Things Happen For A Reason
by KazeNoSakura
Summary: Dating him was just a means of being promoted. Karin didn't know the guy, and frankly, she didn't care. But fate has this funny way of ALWAYS screwing you over. #3
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach

**A/N:** Hi-hi! I'm back with another HitsuxRin (ToxRin) fic! This one is inspired by the many chick flicks I've watched in the past.

I'd like to give a shout-out to **Kurt Kieser **and dedicate this story to him. He's an awesome friend, a great writer and is also the whole reason why I posted this story earlier than anticipated.

Happy reading!

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**Favour For The Devil**

The woman was as good as dead. She knew it the moment her boss, Kagayami Ren, personally called her to his office. Though many could argue that it meant nothing, his employees knew better. Ren was somewhat of a sadist, so when he personally called an employee to his office it meant that he was going to fire that person's sorry ass.

Karin gulped nervously as she made her way to his office. During the eight months she had been working there, she knew she had done nothing wrong. And yet in spite of that, she was still being called to his office.

_'Maybe it's nothing serious,' _she silently argued. _'Maybe the guy's just calling you because you're his secretary.'_

In spite of what she thought, she couldn't convince herself to stay positive. And the chatter between her co-workers weren't helping either.

"Poor thing," said a voice. "She never had a chance."

"It really is a shame," said another.

"A shame? Ha! I'm glad she's leaving!" replied an annoying voice.

"Well I'll be!" said a rough one, sounding more impressed than sorry. "Kagayami-san usually fires his employees after two years. The girl hasn't even made it through her first year, let alone her second one."

Karin could not believe that she was going to get fired. To think that she held her tongue every time he shot her one of his snooty comments –though her mind was filled with profanity– and didn't even glare daggers at him –at least not until his back was facing her. She was _the_ modeled employee.

_'Whatever,'_ she thought bitterly. _'When he says it, I swear I'll wring his neck!'_

When she entered his office, a sickly sweet voice greeted her. "Welcome, Kurosaki! Please sit."

She nodded suspiciously, not liking the tone in his voice one bit, and sat in the chair provided for her.

"So how's everything? I hope I'm not working you too hard."

Karin couldn't believe her ears. Was he seriously asking her this? And what the hell was with that fake expression?

"Everything's fine, Kagayami-san," she answered slowly. "How about you?"

"Oh please, just call me Ren."

"Uh, sure thing… Ren…"

"Oh, you know how it is. It's all work and no play," he laughed. "What about the position? Do you like being my secretary?"

"Of course," she lied, faking a smile. "I _love_ working with you, Ren."

"You're being way too nice, Kurosaki. I know I've been a pain lately and I'm sorry for that. It's just been really hectic here."

That raised a red flag in Karin's mind. Not only was his sweet voice literally suffocating her, but Kagayami never apologized to anybody in his life. Something was definitely up.

"Cut the crap,_ Ren_, and tell me what's really on your mind," she rudely replied. Hey, if she was going to get fired anyway she might as well go out with a bang.

Hearing her tone, the man's smile disappeared. "So you finally decide to show your true self. It's about time! I was beginning to wonder if I hired an idiot!"

Karin was seething inside. If only looks could kill.

"I hate it when my employees lie to me, you know?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" she retorted, her tone getting even uglier. "'Cause I sure as hell know that I wasn't the only one acting."

He smirked. "My, my. I really like this attitude of yours. Nice and feisty."

Karin rolled her eyes. If the man was going to fire her, he better do it before she decided to do it herself. Anything was better than hearing this crap. "Look, if you're going to do it; just say it already. I don't have time for this."

"Fine, Kurosaki," he replied, a little annoyed by her attitude. "I need you to do me a favour."

"A favour?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. There was no way her boss was asking her for a simple favour. With him, there was always a catch.

He grinned evilly. "Yes, and I know certain _someone_ who has been begging me for a promotion. What was it again? Oh yeah, the junior editor slot."

Karin knew who he was referring to and swore to God that if it wasn't illegal she would have killed him by now.

"As you may already be aware of, Gotei Thirteen Publishing has always come on top somehow always selling more books than any other publishing company. And unfortunately, Rukongai Publishers has always followed suit. Because of this outbreak, we have been getting less and less authors; some have even left our company for theirs."

"And what do you expect me to do?"

"I'm getting there," he hissed through his teeth. "The reason for their success is due to their star editor, Hitsugaya Tōshirō. Not only does he have superb skills in editing, but the man works so fast that even if his client's manuscript is late, he still manages to finish the final editing before he sends it off to be copy-edited. Weeks later, after the novel has been published, the author's book somehow becomes a bestseller, just like that.

"What I want you to do is to find a way to stop their editor from doing his job by their next deadline, which will be in about two weeks starting on Monday. Do that and I'll happily grant you your wish."

"That's all you want me to do?" she asked disbelievingly. "Missing a deadline hardly sounds that bad."

"On the contrary, Gotei Thirteen Publishing thrives on being on time. If they mess this up, their morale is sure to fall. And that'll give us enough time to get back on top."

Somehow, Karin knew this was going to end up badly, but to turn away from an opportunity like this was to walk away from gold itself.

"And how the hell do you expect me to do that?" she questioned. "How do you expect me to stop this guy?"

"You're a woman for crying out loud! Don't you know anything about distracting a man?" The room fell silent before an idea popped into his mind. "You're going to date the sucker, make him fall in love with you and dump the poor sap; dump him real hard."

"What? I could never—"

"Okay, let me say this another way. I'm not asking you anymore. I'm demanding it. So you're going to do it whether you like it or not."

"Excuse me? I don't _have_ to do anything, _Ren_." She spoke his name with such disdain.

"Is that so? Well, my dear secretary, how about I make your life a living hell?"

Knowing where this was going, Karin had had enough. If the man was bringing out the threats, then she was going to quit. "I don't deserve this shit! You think I'm scared of you? Think again!"

Unfazed by her response, he grinned maliciously and said, "Are you sure you want to do that? I know a lot of people in high places who'd make sure you never get another job ever again."

Karin stared into his green eyes fiercely, never giving up her ground until she realized that she couldn't give up on her dreams. For her, becoming an editor was like following in her mother's footsteps. Although she would never admit this out loud, the whole point of her doing this was so that she could get to know her mother even more. She wanted to know why Masaki loved literature as much as she did when she was still alive and why she chose this profession. She could have been a teacher for crying out loud!

She sighed. "You win. I'll…I'll do it."

"Good girl," Ren said, smiling. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? It'll be the first of many nice gestures provided that you do the job right, of course."

Horrified by how she was easily played, Karin quietly left his office.

"So, Kurosaki," said a man the moment she closed the door. "When will you be leaving?"

"I'm not leaving," she told them. "Kagayami just asked me to do him a favour."

Everyone in the room gasped.

"Are you serious? Please tell us you refused," begged a woman.

"Actually, I agreed."

"You what?"

"What's the big idea?" Karin asked, now a little annoyed by their reaction. "He didn't really leave me any choice."

"Then you should have quit," said another. The voice came from a man in the far back.

"Why?"

"Every time he asks a favour from any of us, it's always something illegal. So we always say no despite the consequences. Since you're always cooped up in that office of yours, you obviously had no idea. Why don't you just quit while you still can?"

"The whole reason I decided to take it was so I could reach my dreams. There's no way in hell that I'm going to quit!" Her co-workers were getting on her nerves and she had no idea why. Were they her friends or were they her enemies?

"So you'd rather go to jail for him?"

"I never said it was something illegal. I just need to date some guy and dump him later. No big deal."

"Hm…" said the man in front of her. "Let me guess… Is the lucky guy, Hitsugaya Tōshirō?"

"How did you know?" she asked, surprised.

"Sweetie, you're better off getting hit by lightning because you're never going to get a date with him. Better good looking women have tried and failed miserably. So why don't you save yourself the tears and embarrassment while you still can?"

"Well excuse me for being me! Now get out of my way!" she yelled and took the elevator down to the lobby. What the hell was that guy thinking, calling her 'sweetie' and telling her off like that? Now more than ever, Karin was determined just so she could show them who was right.

The moment she left, the man sighed. "Looks like she's a lost cause. Five thousand yen says that she'll fail miserably by the first day and come back crying."

"I'll take you on!" replied another man. "Except, it'll be over before it even gets started."

"You guys are idiots! Obviously you don't know her as well as I do. I bet twenty thousand yen that Karin will win the guy's heart, but then she'd have to quit because she'd pick him over her job."

"Are you sure you're willing to bet that much money, Midori?"

"No, I'm just betting that much because I love to spend my money," she answered sarcastically. "What are you, an idiot? Of course I'm betting that much!"

"You're insane."

"No, I believe the correct term is 'daring'."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and turned to the others. "So who else is in?"

"I'll join!"

"Me too!"

"Don't forget about me!"

-0-

When Karin got home, she was irritated beyond belief. "Urgh!" she yelled and slammed the door.

Hearing the sound of the door, a beautiful woman sighed as she twirled her long periwinkle hair into a messy bun. It's one of those days, huh; she wondered and greeted her friend.

"Okay, what happened now?" she asked, though it didn't really sound like a question.

"Idiots! All of them!"

"Your seniors attacked you all at once again, didn't they?"

Instead of answering, Karin let out an exasperated sigh, which by the woman's standards meant that she was on the right path.

"Did they show you up again?" she asked.

"No, worst."

"They embarrassed you in front of your boss?"

"Even worst."

"A giant man-eating tree was delivered to your work and ate half of your co-workers," she teasingly answered, waiting for her friend's reaction.

"If only!" she huffed and Fiammetta laughed. "Then I wouldn't have to see their ugly mugs anymore."

"So dish already! I'm dying to know!"

"_Ren_," she answered, hissing his name through her teeth, "asked me to do him a favour."

"That doesn't sound that bad."

"You didn't hear what the devil wanted."

"Go on."

"He wants me to date some guy just so he can miss a deadline. It's stupid, really."

"So who's the poor sap?"

"The star editor of Gotei Thirteen Publishing. Some guy named Hitsu… Hitsugay Shirō… or something."

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō? As in _the_ Hitsugaya Tōshirō?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, that's the one. Do you have to sound so shocked?"

Fiammetta shook her head. "It's just… Wow, you really have your work cut out for you. Hitsugaya Tōshirō is not a guy you want to make enemies with. Besides, he's not the type to date. He has such a distant personality. Almost impossible."

"Not helping here! And you call yourself my best friend."

"I am! That's why I'm telling you the truth! There's no point in beating around the bush."

Karin rolled her eyes and sighed. "Easy catch or not. I don't know if I can do it. I'm not that pretty and, let's face it, I'm not much of a lady's man."

The sudden thought of dating again brought forth some self-conscious issues that Karin had trouble with in the past. In spite of it being several years ago, his words literally shattered her heart.

Her best friend saw her discomfort and patted her on the shoulders. "Karin, don't do this to yourself. Those guys were jerks and blind to not see past your pure beauty. You've got a natural look that not many women have. Now stop being a letdown and perk up already."

"You know as much as I do that I'm not going down that road again."

Karin was devastated when her last boyfriend broke up with her a couple years back. He kept telling her how ugly she was and how violent she acted. Heck, he even went as far as to tell her that he'd turn gay because of her. And even though those words really wounded her, the agonizing pain only deepened when the man did it via text –he was far too scared to do it in person since Karin was a fourth degree black belt. He even went as far as to send her a picture of his new girlfriend, claiming that this was what he looking for in a woman.

"I think it's about time you got yourself back on the market. You need someone better to brighten your life and this favour is just what you need."

"No way! Besides, I thought you just said he was unattainable."

"I never said he was unattainable. I said it was going to be hard. He's not the type to socialize with people, let alone random strangers; and from what I've heard, the only women he speaks to are his step-sister, Hinamori Momo, and his cousin, Matsumoto Rangiku. Also, if you get too close there's a possibility that he'll push you away just like the millions of girls he's already rejected."

"Very encouraging. I just love your spiels," Karin replied sarcastically.

Ignoring her reply, she said, "Relax! When I'm done with you, there's no doubt he'll be begging for more."

"Excuse me? Who the hell gave you permission to do anything to me?"

"That's the beauty about being best friends," she answered and smiled. "We don't need to ask for anything. We just know."

Karin thought about it for a minute and said, "Fine, let's say that hypothetically I say yes. How the hell do I ask him to go out with me?"

Fiammetta scoffed. "Karin, Karin, Karin… It's like you don't even know me. Whose uncle owns the most extravagant hotel built everywhere in America, Japan, England, France, and China?"

"Yours."

"And whose hotel always gets booked for fancy parties?"

"Your uncle's."

"And who'll be attending a party tonight that just so happens to be hosted for the Gotei Thirteen Publishing?"

"You," the woman answered, trying to avoid going at all costs.

"Nice try, but we're both going. First, we'll have to go shopping!"

"I don't think so! Me and shopping go just about as well as cats and dogs."

"Oh just shut up and come with me!" Fiammetta retorted, grabbing her best friend with extreme force despite her petite size, and hauled her out of their condo.

Karin sighed and decided it was best not to struggle. Despite how she looked, Fiammetta could be quite persuasive whenever she wanted to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts! They are much appreciated.

Just a bit of a warning, this is where the French begins. I'll be putting some here and there but mostly in this chapter and the next. Translations are provided within the story! ^_^

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**Makeover Hell**

"I can't believe none of those stores had the dress I wanted!" Fiammetta huffed as they entered their condo. "We wasted two hours for nothing."

"We?" Karin yelled, exasperated. "Don't you mean me? Do you know how agonizing that was? Not to mention torture!"

Fiammetta sighed. How could her best friend say that? If it were any other woman, she would have jumped at the opportunity. Still, Karin wouldn't be Karin if she had liked their little adventure.

"Forcing me to shop with you was bad enough, but to make me try them on! Are you insane?"

"Oh c'mon, you know you liked it," she teased. "Besides, now that we know the dress isn't out there we can check my closet."

"Your closet?" she asked as her right eye twitched slightly. "If we were going to end up there anyway, why did we go shopping?"

Looking at her innocently, the petite woman answered, "Because there were clothes that I wanted to check out and now seemed like the perfect opportunity?"

"What?"

"Calm down, Karin. I'll have you looking fabulous in a jiffy."

"I don't think so, buddy! I might have gone out shopping with you, but there is no way that I'm going to wear a dress! Whether you like it or not, the closest thing I'm going to wear is a skirt and a blouse."

She smirked. "That's what you think. Philippe, Jeanne, François!"

The minute Fiammetta called out their names, two men and a woman emerged from behind the curtains of their living room and immediately blocked the exit.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" Karin asked as she slowly distanced herself from the strangers. It was scary how her friend could pull these things without her knowing.

"If you need to be irresistible I'm going to need all the help I can get. Now be a good girl and let them take care of you."

"If you think I'm going to let them touch me, you've got another thing coming."

"We'll see about that." Fiammetta shot her a challenging glare before turning to the Frenchmen. "Prenez-la! (Get her!)" she ordered.

"Like hell I'd let you catch me!" she yelled. "Don't think I spent those three years in France for nothing."

Fiammetta rolled her eyes. "Understanding French and not getting captured are two different things, you know."

"Oh, I know. But remember who has the black belt." Without wasting another second, Karin evaded the men with cat-like skills and headed for the door. "See ya!"

"I don't think so," said a voice. And before she knew it, Karin was tackled to the floor. "You're doing this makeover whether it kills you or not!" Fiammetta hissed, putting her friend in a headlock.

Unable to resist the pain, Karin finally gave in. "Alright, alright. I give, I give. Sheesh! Just get off of me already!"

"Promise you won't run away?"

"I promise! Now get the hell off me!"

As Fiammetta got off of her friend, the men instantly grabbed her. "Ça va les gars. Elle ne va plus s'échapper. (It's okay guys. She won't run away.)"

The men nodded silently and released her before apologizing for being a little too rough with her.

Upset, Karin glared at them. "Now that we've established that I won't run away, what the hell are these goons going to do to me?"

"Well my dear friend, I've arranged for you to go through an intense makeover."

After hearing those last two words, Karin paled. If there was one movie she could relate to it was 'Miss Congeniality.' And if she remembered correctly, didn't she also go through an 'intense makeover'?

"Jeanne, pouvez-vous escortez mon amie vers la salle de bain, s'il-vous-plaît? Tout ce que vous avez besoin sera sur le comptoir. (Jeanne, can you please escort my friend to the washroom? Everything you need will be on the counter.)"

Still lost in thought, Karin didn't realize she was moving until she heard the bathroom doors close behind her. "How did I…" Her words were cut short as she noticed the tweezers, wax strips, and wax laying on the bathroom counter. "Shit!"

All anyone could hear after that was her yells whenever a strip of wax was pulled.

-0-

Several hours later, Fiammetta and Karin came out of their rooms looking fabulous.

Fiammetta donned a long and flowing strapless indigo dress. There were several pleats as the material crisscrossed on her waist and a little less as the dress straightened out. For her hair, she had a simple updo and wore silver loop earrings. She also slipped on a three silver bracelets, silver three inch heels and bore a silver clutch purse.

Karin, on the other hand, was dressed in a sexy red halter top dress. From the waist down, the dress flowed in three layers where it started to part in the middle from the knee down, creating a downward v-shape where her legs had room to move. As for her hair, Fiammetta had Phillipe wash, cut and style it. So no longer cascading down her entire back, Karin's layered hair now fell at about four inches passed her shoulders and had side-swept bangs parting from the right. To complete her look, she was forced to have a black clutch purse but luckily wore no make-up but the lip-gloss on her lips.

"Wow, these dresses are amazing!" she gasped, looking at herself in the mirror. "And I never thought I'd say this, but I actually _like_ this dress."

Fiammetta laughed. "Mom's a world-class designer. What did you expect when we're wearing her clothes?"

"I just never knew that there were dresses that would look so…so…"

"Normal? You?" Fiammetta finished, grinning ear to ear. "Mom knows how you hate wearing dresses, so she thought of a way to create a dress that would look more like a two piece rather than a one piece."

"Remind me to thank her later."

"I will. Now there's just one more thing: your shoes."

Karin looked at her feet and paled. "Nah-uh! You might have gotten me into a dress and you might have tortured me with the waxing, which by the way you _owe_ me! But there is no way in hell that I'm going to wear those godforsaken things! You can't make me!"

"Karin, remember who has control here," her best friend threatened while smiling deviously.

She gulped. If Karin wanted to live to see tomorrow, she'd have to comply. "Fine," she begrudgingly replied.

"That's my girl," smiled Fiammetta as she handed her a pair of black three inched heels. "They're not even that high, so relax."

After much difficulty, she was finally able to slip on the shoes, wobbling from time to time as she strutted in the living room. Oh how she loathed heels of any height.

After getting used to the heels, she turned to the Frenchmen and asked, "Qu'en pensez-vous? (What do you think?)"

"Incroyablement belle! (Incredibly beautiful!)" said Philipe.

"Fabuleux! (Fabulous!)" cried François.

"_Absolument _magnifique! (Absolutely stunning!)" exclaimed Jeanne.

While blushing, they thanked each of them before bidding them goodbye.

"À la prochaine! (Till next time!)"

"Hey, Fia."

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to show me a picture of Hitsugaya Tōshirō. The last thing I need is to flirt with someone else."

"Oh yeah, that's right. With all this excitement, I almost forgot," she replied as she stuffed her blackberry, some emergency cash, and the condo's cardkey in her clutch. "Here's—"

Before she could show her the picture, the doorbell rang and Fiammetta squealed with delight. She hadn't seen her boyfriend in weeks because of their crazy schedules.

"Hey, Shūhei," she greeted and pecked him on the lips. "Glad you could make it."

Dressed in a black tuxedo and indigo tie, her boyfriend smiled lovingly before giving Fiammetta a second look. His mouth dropped when he finally saw what she was wearing. "You look…amazing."

"And you look pretty good yourself," she teased.

Feeling somewhat like a lightbulb, Karin cleared her throat. "Sorry to break the moment, but I'm sure the party won't wait for us."

It took Shūhei all of his self-control to tear his eyes off of his girlfriend and turn towards the source of the voice. "Hey, Karin. You're looking rather lovely."

"Thanks," she said, nodding.

"Let's get going, guys!" Fiammetta yelled and linked her arm with her boyfriend's before proceeding to the elevator. "If you're not out in two minutes, we're leaving you behind, Karin."

"Coming!"

Karin rushed out of the condo so fast that she had completely forgotten to place her condo's cardkey into her purse. So all she had was her blackberry and some money.

-0-

The social event was being held in the hotel's ballroom, which was said to hold about five hundred people. The walls were eggshell white and adorned with light decorations of elegant paintings and the ceiling was separated into four squares. In the middle of each square, there hung a huge diamond chandelier capable of lighting the room in a calming and stylish way, and some decorations of gold wisps. The floor was also splattered with gold patterns on top of its white marble, matching the ceiling without making it look tacky. As for the room itself, it was crowded with fifty tables, each surrounded by ten chairs and a beautiful centerpiece, and in the center of it all was space for people to dance.

Karin's eyes widened as the trio entered the room. How the hell was she going to find the editor in this heap of mess?

'_The editor!'_ she suddenly remembered and looked around for her best friend. Unfortunately, Fiammetta was nowhere to be found. _'Great! Now how the hell am I supposed to find him?'_

After much thought, Karin decided not to worry over it and headed towards the bar for some wine instead.

The waiter smiled and poured her a glass.

She smiled back, thanking him, and turned around to face the crowd.

'_If I were Hitsugaya Tōshirō, what would I look like? Hm… For starters, the guy's name sounds pretty arrogant. So I'm probably looking for some rich snob. I wonder…'_

As her dark eyes scanned the room, she picked out a few men that fitted his description.

'_He's also supposed to be a good-looking guy.'_

The first contestant was a man in his late forties. He had long wavy brown hair that was placed in a low ponytail and wore a black tuxedo. Karin had suspected him to be the arrogant guy until he started flirting with a bunch of women who passed by and was then smacked by his date, a woman in her late thirties wearing glasses.

'_Definitely not him. Next!'_

Her eyes continued to search the room until they fell upon a guy around her age, maybe a year or two older, with white spiky hair, gorgeous yet piercing green eyes and was dressed in the same black tuxedo. Again, Karin kept her hopes up until he was greeted by a lady in her late thirties with strawberry blonde hair wearing a revealing dress that showed her large bosom.

'_What a shame,'_ she thought sadly. _'Next!'_

The final contestant was a man with short dark hair and fair skin. Although a pretty boy, there wasn't much about him. At first, Karin didn't think he was Hitsugaya Tōshirō because for one, he had to be hot not pretty looking; two, he didn't seem like the writer type; and three, it just didn't feel right. But then she saw him strutting like a real arrogant son of a bitch who thought he was better than everyone else.

'_Looks like we have a winner! Urgh, just my luck.'_

Sucking up her pride, she got up and walked by him, establishing eye contact upon her approach and smiling just a little.

The man had never seen such a subtle approach before and was thus hooked.

'_She really knows how to attract a guy,' _he thought and smirked_. 'Very beautiful.'_

'_That's it you arrogant bastard. Just look at me and no one else.' _

Once she felt his eyes on her, she began to delicately sway her hips in such a slow and sexy manner that it made him drool.

"Who was that woman?" the man asked to the servant who had served her wine earlier once Karin had disappeared into the washroom.

"I have no idea, sir."

'_Whether you want to or not,' _he thought deviously, '_I'll have you eating in the palm of my hands.'_

-0-

Little did Karin know, she had also attracted the attention of the white-haired man.

'_I've never seen her in the company before. Is she someone's date?'_ Quickly shaking his head, he thought, _'Why do I even care? She's probably another gold-digger.'_

"Tōshirō? Tōshirō? Mou! You never listen to me!" To the world it looked like she was complaining, but to him he knew she was only doing that to annoy him. He always was such a stiff.

"Matsumoto," he warned. "Don't start with me. I'm in a bad mood as it is."

"Why is that? You've been surrounded by a ton of women ever since the party started and yet you still look sad. Weren't they pretty enough?"

"For the thousandth time, it's not about looks. It's about them liking me for who I am, not for my money."

"Yeah, but you're thirty years old and you haven't even had a decent date since high school."

"That's because back then I wasn't known for my money and success…" Tōshirō's voice trailed off as his attention was suddenly drawn back to the raven-haired beauty.

'_What is it with her?' _he wondered._ 'She isn't even trying to get anyone's attention.'_

"What's wrong?"

Matsumoto could see the blank stare in his eyes and looked in the direction he was staring. She grinned as she spotted a beautiful raven-haired woman wearing a casual yet extravagant halter top dress.

'_Looks like someone's finally gotten his interest,' _she mused.

-0-

Karin strutted back to her spot, trying to find the guy she presumed was Hitsugaya Tōshirō. It didn't take her long to find him.

"Hello, Madame," he said politely. "You look extravagant tonight."

"Why thank you," she replied, smiling sexily. "You look quite interesting yourself." God she wanted to throw up. Not only did she sound like one of those cheesy dramas her best friend always watched, but the guy's tone was clearly fake.

"Thanks. Would you like to dance?"

"Sure."

Though she hated the idea of dancing with him, this was the only way to figure out who this guy really was. She'd hate to waste her time flirting with some complete stranger.

-0-

Tōshirō clenched his fist in anger as the two made it to the dance floor.

'_Damn it! She really is like everyone here. I really thought she was different.'_

While Tōshirō's anger continuously grew, he couldn't help but stare at her. There was just something about her that interested him. And then he found out what it was as the two continued to dance.

'_She is different,'_ he figured as he noticed her discomfort when the man placed his hands on her ass._ 'Normally the women that flirt with Ayasegawa expect this and don't show any discomfort.'_

-0-

Karin couldn't help but stiffen. '_I can't believe he's touching me! If he's not the right guy he's going to die!'_

"Having a nice time?" the guy asked.

"Plenty," she replied, trying to mask her discomfort. "Mind telling me your name, handsome?" She knew that if she boasted the guy's ego, she'd get what she wanted.

He chuckled. "Sure, if I get a kiss."

'_A kiss? What a self-centered, egotistical… Keep your temper in check, Karin,'_ she warned herself. '_This is for your career.' _"Alright…if you tell me your name first." God she wanted to gag. What she wouldn't give to sock him in the face right now.

"Persistent woman, aren't you?" he laughed. "My name's Ayasegawa Yumichika."

Anger instantly boiled in her veins as he whispered his name.

'_Are you telling me that this wasn't the fucking guy? Oh now he's going to get it!_'

Without warning, Karin leaned her lips towards his, giving the illusion that she was going to kiss him, and then swiftly brought her knee towards his crotch.

Ayasegawa whelped in pain, grabbing his damaged goods as he curled in the foetus position, saying, "You bitch! You little—"

"Next time, try to keep your hands to yourself."

And with that, she left.

-0-

Hitsugaya couldn't help but smile. '_It's about time someone gave him what he deserved. Looks like this party just got a little more interesting.' _

Getting up from his seat, Tōshirō turned to his cousin. "I'll be back. I'm just going to—"

"Check on that woman?"

"W-what are you talking about? I never said I was going to check on her."

"You didn't have to. I can see it on your face."

He sighed. '_She always could read me like an open book.' _"Fine, yes. Are you happy?"

"Very! Now go before she gets away."

Knowing what she had in mind, Tōshirō rolled his eyes. "I never said I was going to date her either. I just want to see what she's going to do next."

"Uh-huh. Sure thing, cuz. Have fun!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **In honour of Hitsugaya Tōshirō's birthday, I decided to make another quick update. Yay! Oh and in case I don't make it on time, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! May all your wishes come true! ^_^

**To HK:** Haha, I know she's so devious. XD Despite that, Fia's always there for her.

And yes, it does sound a little weird with the French and English, but it's the only way I can practice it (oh well, the cat's out of the bag XD). I haven't spoken the language since I graduated high school and it hasn't even been a year yet (a year only in June)! As you can see, I _need_ the practice.

Man, my French must be rustier than I thought because you are absolutely right! Thank you so much for correcting me (I just made the corrections). If you see any more mistakes, don't hesitate to correct me because like I said, I'm rusty. It would really refresh my memory. :D

Merci beaucoup! In honour for all your help, I'm dedicating this chapter to you! ;)

* * *

**Cold Night, Warm Sheets**

Furious with what had just transpired in the ballroom, Karin could not wait to leave. Favour or not, if the editor was anything like that man, she wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass.

_'Forget about dating him,'_ she thought deviously. _'I'll just make him beg for mercy.'_

She could picture it now. The editor would be tied up in a room, pleading for his release, while she would be laughing in his face. Then when he'd get annoying, she'd knocked him out cold. Not only would she not have to date him, but the guy would miss his deadline, too. It'd be a win-win situation for her.

Too bad God had other plans.

Karin was so deep in thought that she failed to pay attention to where she was headed and tripped on her heels. Good thing she landed on something soft…or maybe not. To her dismay, she landed on a bald man, whom she assumed was drunk due to the bottle of beer in his right hand and the pungent aroma coming from his breath.

"What the hell's your problem?" the bald man slurred. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the woman that sacked Yumichika."

Great, just what she needed: another crazy guy. She had learned her lesson the first time and didn't bother introducing herself. Even if she had no idea what this Hitsugaya guy looked like, she knew for a fact that this drunken man wasn't him. For one, he was butt ugly and two, she highly doubted that the editor would be drunk. He might be a rich snob, but his name still had class. So rather than answer him, Karin got up and walked away only to be grabbed by the drunkard and tossed back onto the floor. She tried to escape his grasp, but the alcohol running through his veins seemed to be giving him the edge to overpower her.

"Get off of me!" she yelled, trying to push him off.

"I don't think so, honey," he replied and used more force. "You see, you're really pretty and I'm no pushover."

"I said get the fuck off of me!" she yelled even louder. This time, she managed a kick but the guy wasn't bothered. She knew she had to escape soon because if she didn't… She'd rather not think of it right now.

"Struggle all you want. No one's here to save you." He laughed a throaty laugh before leaning in closer. Drunk or not, the woman before him was a Goddess and he'd do anything to bring her to a room.

Luckily for Karin, the man momentarily pulled away when he heard a man clearing his throat.

"This isn't a brothel, Madarame. Get off her and leave before I make you." Though threatening, his voice came out cool and collected.

"If it isn't the knight in shining armour, ready to save his damsel in distress," the bald man slurred.

_'Damsel in distress?'_

Those words dealt a fatal blow to Karin's pride, and she suddenly felt angry at her saviour. It was one thing to call her a bitch, but to refer to her as a prissy princess? She didn't like that one bit, and one way or another she was going to prove that she wasn't fragile.

"Count yourself lucky, bitch." Stingily, the man got off his prey and groggily made his way back into the ballroom.

After the drunkard had left, Karin's saviour headed over to her and offered her his hand. "I apologize for Madarame. He always loses control whenever he drinks."

Still upset about that previous remark, Karin refused to grab his hand and got up on her own instead. "As much as I appreciate your help, I didn't ask for it," she said a little harsher than she had intended to. "I could have handled that on my own."

"And you were doing so well before I came along," he commented sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"For your information, I was about to kick his ass before you butted into my business," she lied. Though thankful, Karin loathed appearing weak because to her, the idea of a woman always needing a man to save her was sickening. "In any case, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He didn't know what pushed him to say those words, but before he could stop himself they were already out of his mouth.

"Yes!" she replied, exasperated that a man she hardly knew was showing her concern. Most men she met only wanted one thing when they acted like that, and she wasn't the type to eagerly get into some random guy's pants. "Now if you'll excuse me, a cab's waiting for me outside." Though she had yet to call one, the man didn't have to know that.

Before she could leave, however, the man grabbed her arm. "Hold on a sec."

"What the hell do you want?" she shouted in disdain. "If you're here to avenge your friend or whatever, I'm not sorry for hurting him. He deserved it for touching me!"

The man released her arm, feeling offended that she would call that pervert his _friend_. "Me, avenge that dolt? Never in a million years! The way he acts towards women disgusts me."

By the look in his eyes, she could tell that the man wasn't lying.

_'Do honest guys really exist?'_she wondered. '_Can he really be trusted?'_

"Why are you being so nice?" she demanded, looking at him with an incredulous stare.

"A woman just got molested at a party that was hosted for my father's company. Why do you think I'm being nice?"

"Your father's company?"

"Unfortunately. Hitsugaya Tsukio is the owner of Gotei Thirteen Publishing."

_'Hitsugaya? Then that must mean… Out of all the people!'_Karin couldn't believe that this man, this spiky white-haired man, was the guy she was looking for. _'Wasn't this contestant number two? Man was I off. Then that woman must have been his cousin or step-sister or something.'_

"If your father owns the company, why don't you get them fired?"

"My father only cares for business," he answered truthfully, seething every word through his teeth. "He says that as long as they perform well, what they do is their problem."

"Then why don't _you_ fire them? You are his son, right? Shouldn't you be part owner of the company?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I told him that I didn't want to own the company. I just wanted to publish the books I wanted and work a carefree life, away from anything relating to business. I really hate it even if I am good at it."

It was weird talking to this stranger like this. Never in his life had he ever spoken so kindly to another woman other than his step-sister and cousin. They were always sluts after his money, anyway, so he always kept his guard up. But with her, it was different.

Karin, on the other, had to admit that this guy's personality was different than what her best friend had said. The man seemed much kinder.

"Would you like to get out of here and go somewhere a little more private?" he asked and then quickly added after seeing her gaze, "It's the least I can do after what those imbeciles did to you."

"Sure," she answered without a hint of seduction. The guy seemed honest enough, and if she was going to date him for a while she decided that she'd be nice herself.

"By the way, the name's Kurosaki Karin."

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō."

-0-

After a quick drive, Tōshirō brought Karin to an elegant French restaurant, one of the very few that were well renown in Tokyo. It was a little restaurant called _Restaurant L'osier._

"Ah, Hitsugaya-sama. C'est un plaisir de vous revoir, (It's a pleasure seeing you again,)" said the greeter of the restaurant. "Une table pour deux? (Table for two?)"

Tōshirō nodded.

Even if the guy was an editor, Karin had not expected him to know French. English maybe, but not French. This was definitely going to be an interesting night.

"Suivez-moi, s'il-vous-plaît, (Follow me, please,)" he said, gesturing them to follow him.

Karin smiled and pretended not to understand. She might as well have some fun while she was at it.

"Lady's first," said Tōshirō, motioning her to go before him.

"Thank you."

She was also a little surprised by his attitude. Who would have known that the editor was a gentleman, too? She might as well milk it as long as she could, no? He was just some guy she was supposed to date anyway. It couldn't hurt.

As they reached a table far in the back, Karin couldn't help but marvel at such a beautiful restaurant. With its elegant décor mix of traditional and modern Japanese art (paintings, tapestries, sculptures) and paintings from French artists of the twentieth century, this restaurant found a way to harmonize both cultures without making it clash.

While the two discussed about other things, Karin couldn't help but watch and listen intently. She was annoyed since they weren't including her in their conversations but amused because they assumed that she didn't understand.

In the end, the greeter handed them two menus and suggested a wine to start off with.

Tōshirō nodded and told the man that it was a great choice.

Without wanting to be rude, the greeter cleared his throat and attempted to speak Japanese with Karin, hoping that his accent wasn't too hard for her to understand. "Is Cabernet Sauvignon okay with you?"

Unable to take it anymore, she smiled, knowing all too well that the wine was of excellent quality, and replied, "Oui, un excellent choix. Merci de l'avoir suggéré. (Yes, an excellent choice. Thanks for the suggestion.)"

Both men stared at her, surprised at her perfect French.

In response, Karin gave them a not-my-fault-you-assumed-I-didn't-speak-French look.

Somewhat embarrassed, the greeter smiled back and left, leaving the couple alone.

"I never knew you spoke French."

"Meh," she shrugged. "You never asked."

"So how did you learn French and do you know any other languages?"

"I studied abroad in France for three years, getting my degree in French literature. Then went to America and got my master's in English lit., and finally Tokyo for my master's in Japanese lit. You?"

"I did the same as you, but also learned Spanish and Mandarin."

By now, another waiter came with the red wine of their choice and two wine glasses, pouring a fair amount in both glasses and placing the bottle on the table thereafter. The two thanked him, gave them their orders, and the waiter left.

"So where do you work?" he asked, not knowing what else to ask, and sipped his wine.

"I work as a secretary for an asshole," she replied vaguely and bitterly. Oh how she wished she could kill that bastard.

"If he's such an ass, why don't you change jobs?"

"Even though I wanted to, I couldn't."

"And why's that?"

She took a sip of her wine before answering, "If I want to follow my dreams, I have to work for that bastard until he gives me that promotion. I supposed I could find another job, but life isn't always that easy. You got to work with what you got, you know?"

This had picked his interest. Never had Tōshirō met such an ambitious woman before.

"Would you tell me your dream if I asked you nicely," he joked.

"Now if I told you that, I'd have to kill you," she mused.

After exchanging a few more sentences about their lives, the food had arrived and the two immersed deeper into their conversations, each one getting more personal than the next. Neither party didn't feel the slight hesitation in answering. In fact, they felt very comfortable the more they spoke.

By the time they finished dinner, they never realized that three hours had flown by.

"Wow, eleven already? I have to get going."

"Let me take you home," he offered and looked outside. "Looks like a storm's coming."

She nodded, thanking him for the offer, and the two headed for the car as the rain washed the streets.

The car ride to her condo was yet another time for the two to converse. They were so engrossed that didn't even realize they had already arrived at their destination.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked, concerned by how the rain only got worse as the time passed.

"Yes, mother," she joked. "I'm a grown woman, Tōshirō. I think we've already established that I can take care of myself. Now go already. The rain's not getting any better."

He nodded, not really realizing that she was calling him by his first name. "Bye, Kurosaki."

As she watched him drive away, she thought about the valuable chances she was missing. She could have invited him to her place and gotten him to fall for her a little harder. But the thought never crossed her mind. Instead, the thought of wondering why he called her by her surname all night rather than her first name surfaced and that really bothered her. She was supposed to crush him in less than sixteen days. So why was she bothered by something as meaningless as this? It wasn't like she liked him or anything, right?

As if answering her silent question, Karin suddenly felt a wretched pull on her heart. Was that her conscience talking?

Shaking the thought away, the woman hurried to the gate and searched through her clutch for the cardkey. To her dismay, it was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it! I must have forgotten it when Fia rushed us out of the condo."

Distraught that she had forgotten it, she tried ringing the bell, hoping that the security guard was not on his break. Unfortunately, there was no answer. Then she tried to call her best friend. Fiammetta had answered, but Karin's phone went dead a few seconds after she greeted her.

"Shit! Now how the hell do I get in?"

The wind suddenly picked up and brought goosebumps to her arms. She hugged herself with one arm, trying to keep her body warm, and continued to ring the bell with the other.

"Daisuke! Open the damn gates!"

But no matter how long she rang or screamed, no one was coming to her rescue…or so she had thought.

Minutes later, a black car suddenly pulled up behind her and the windows rolled down. "Are you in trouble?"

Though she hadn't expected to hear his voice so soon, Karin was secretly glad.

"Come in before you freeze to death, Kurosaki," he said and opened the door.

Feeling the warmth from the car, she disregarded any second thoughts and jumped in. "Don't think I'll be falling all over you just because you saved me from the cold," she said, hugging herself with her arms as she struggled to stay warm.

Tōshirō ignored her rude comment and handed her his jacket. "This should keep you warm for the time being." Then he blasted the heaters with his other hand.

She grabbed the jacket and wrapped it around her wet body. "Thanks."

After a little while, she could feel the heat come back. "Why did he come back for me?" she wondered to herself as she looked out the window.

Fortunately or not, Tōshirō had heard her every word even if her voice was barely audible. However, knowing that she was only questioning herself, he decided to break the silence with another subject in mind.

"Since you don't have the cardkey to your condo, you can stay at my place for the night."

She turned her head to face him and asked, "How do you know I don't have my cardkey?"

"So you like standing in the rain while freezing to death?"

Mortified at her carelessness, Karin didn't know what else to do but to stick her tongue at him.

_'Such a child,'_ he commented and rolled his eyes.

"You better not try anything stupid," she warned.

"Don't flatter yourself." Again, he rolled his eyes, wondering why he picked her up from the cold night. Then he saw her shivering form and sighed. Oh right, he did it because he was a nice guy.

-0-

"Go ahead and use the guest shower," Tōshirō said as they entered his condo. "Once you get in, give me your wet clothes and I'll hand you something dry to where. I'll also make you something warm to drink after your shower."

"What? But I don't want to—"

"You'll freeze to death if you don't change your clothes. Now go."

After giving her the spare clothes and towel, he went into his kitchen, filled his kettle with cold water and placed it on the stove. Then taking out some tea leaves and cups, he patiently waited for the water to boil, wondering about the question Karin had asked herself during the car ride.

Why did he go back? He wasn't sure himself. He just had a weird feeling and trusted his instincts. But what did that even mean? He had no freaking clue and this mystery was driving him nuts.

-0-

Karin got into the shower and rejoiced as she felt the warmth of the steam and hot water. It felt nice on her bare skin.

After about fifteen minutes or so, she got out, dried her body and slipped on the shorts and t-shirt he handed to her. When the cotton material touched her skin, she couldn't help but take in the scent of his clothes; _his_ scent. It was nice and relaxed her.

_'What am I thinking?'_she thought, shaking her head._'This isn't right. Don't fall for him, Karin,'_ she warned herself. _'Remember the favour and remember your dream.'_

Once she felt ready to join him on the other side, she slipped on the slippers he had given her and headed straight for the couch. In the corner of her eye, she could see that the white-haired man was in deep concentration.

_'I wonder what he's thinking about?'_ she wondered and then thought it'd be fun to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Oi, Tōshirō!" she yelled with a big smirk on her face. "Stop daydreaming! Didn't you say you were going to give me something warm to drink?"

Her loud voice resonated in his ears and finally snapped him out of his trance. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming!" he replied, irritated that she was able to catch him off guard like that.

_'What is it with her?'_

The two spoke for a while longer until he decided to take a shower. He left and headed to his room while Karin decided to look around his place. The condo was simple yet nice, giving it a subtle look of saying he was rich. Karin wasn't one to care about money, so it didn't really pick her curiosity.

Her eyes continued to search his place until it fell upon his library. There were so many books that she thought she was in heaven. It was organized by author's surnames, genres and languages.

"He really wasn't kidding when he said he knew a lot of languages."

She approached his library and quickly scanned each section. Her eyes hurried to the French books and she noticed a few that she loved, such as _Un Homme Et Son Pêché_ (A Man And His Sin) by Claude-Henri Grignon and _L'Étranger_ by Albert Camus. The latter was translated into an English version entitled _The Stranger_.

She continued to search his books until her grey eyes found a yellow soft-covered one. Suspecting it to be one of her favourites, she gazed at the title that was written on the side. She read: _Et Après_(Literal: And After. Translated version of the book: Afterwards.).

"No way! He's got Guillaume Musso's _Et Après_? And it's the original copy!"

Guillaume Musso was one of Karin's favourite French authors ever since she went to France and she loved his work. His books portrayed great themes and he had a way with words. But perhaps what she loved most about his writing style was the way he could incorporate improbable twists and turns that were still enjoyable.

Her favourite book, the one she held in her hands, became so popular that it was translated into twenty different languages in less than a few years after it was published. Unfortunately, it was now practically impossible to get an original copy and Karin knew that the original copy was _always_ better than the translated versions.

The black-haired woman could no longer keep her excitement and decided that she would read it.

"He wouldn't mind," she thought out loud and immediately indulged into the book.

After reading about a third of the book, Karin could feel her eyelids getting heavier. She tried to fight it as she continued to read, but to no avail. In a few seconds flat, she gave in to her tiredness and fell asleep.

-0-

While the white-haired man took his shower, he couldn't help but think about the guest that sat in his living room.

_'Okay, so you have a woman in your condo and she's not your cousin or step-sister. What the hell are you thinking, Tōshirō?'_

When he finished his shower, he made sure to grab a duvet from his room and bring it to her. But by the time he made his way to the couch, he found her asleep with one of his books.

_'This book, huh?'_ he wondered while reading the title. _'This is one of my favourites too.'_Unconsciously, Tōshirō smiled. '_Kurosaki Karin, you are one interesting woman. Maybe…maybe I might be interested after all.'_He placed the covers on her delicate body and left the book on his coffee table.

"Goodnight," he whispered and left.

The next morning, Karin woke up early because she had to go to work today. Her boss had demanded her presence even though she didn't have to work the weekends.

Once her face was washed, she was at last awake and realized that she was definitely not at her place.

"What the fu…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the events that had happened last night. "Damn it! What time is it?" She hurried out of the washroom and saw the time. The clock flashed 6:27 am. "I guess I slept the whole night here…"

It only took Karin a few more seconds before she finally realized her predicament.

"I SLEPT THE WHOLE NIGHT HERE? Fia is so going to die!" she promised herself and headed straight for the phone.

Calling her place several times, a weak and tired voice finally answered. "What the hell! It's 6:33 in the morning! Can you call back at a decent time?"

Sensing that her friend was going to hang up the phone, she threatened, "Hang up the phone and die!"

"Karin? Why the hell are you calling me? Can't you just jump on my bed or something?"

"I would but I'm not at our place. I'm at _his_!" she hissed. "And it's your fault!"

Now fully awake, Fiammetta shouted, "Why the hell are you at his place for? Don't tell me you—"

Karin knew where this was going and immediately stopped her. "Finish that sentence and I'll kill you."

She sweatdropped. "Looks like someone's crankier than usual."

"Shut up!" she shouted and then clamped her mouth. This whole entire time, she had forgotten that there was another individual, and he was still sleeping.

"Alright, alright. Come home and I'll be waiting for you."

"You better!"

And with that, she hung up the phone real hard.

There was a sudden noise coming from one of the rooms, and Karin feared that she had woken the man up.

"Good, he's still asleep," she huffed after making sure the man was still asleep. "Sorry to sleep and run, but I have to go to work. I'll come back later for my stuff."

Karin hastened to his office, grabbed a paper and wrote Tōshirō a note. Then she headed to the couch she slept on, folded the duvet and placed the note on top of it.

"That should do it."

Satisfied, she grabbed her phone, left her purse on the coffee table and headed for the door to put on her shoes. She paled as she gazed at the heels. "There is no way that I'm going to wear those…those _things_ again."

Looking around his shoes, she found a pair of flip flops and grabbed them. "It's not a tight fit, but it's better than nothing. I hope he doesn't mind me wearing them for a while."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Guys, I've got bad news… School is back so updates will be even slower. :( Sorry. At least I'll be toning down the French for your enjoyment.

**To HK:** Thank you sooo much for ALL of your wonderful reviews! I was so astounded when I saw a mountain high of review alerts in my inbox. I still can't believe that you took the time to write a review for EVERY single chapter on ALL of my Bleach stories. You are my hero! ;D

If it's not a bother, could you please create an account or give me your email. There's so much that I want to tell you and I don't really want the other readers to read it. I hope you understand. If you decide to choose the latter, you can always send it in a separate review and I can delete thereafter. But it's your choice really. Many thanks in advance!

* * *

**A Tasty Treat**

"Hey Karin! I'm so sorry…" Fiammetta began until her eyes came across the clothes she wore. "Oh my God! What on earth are you wearing? Where the hell's the dress and heels I lent you? Don't tell me you left it at his place after you sl—"

Karin flashed her one of her drop-dead glares and she immediately stopped talking. "What did I tell you on the phone earlier this morning?" she asked, hissing each and every word through her clenched teeth.

Fiammetta gulped. It was a good thing looks couldn't kill, or she would have died a long time ago. "Okay, okay. You didn't sleep with him. Now can you stop with the death glare already?" 

She eased it a little, but not completely. "Good. You know I would _never_ steep so low. I'm not a whore."

"Obviously not! That's like telling a person to grow gills and live underwater."

_'At least we're on the same page,'_ Karin thought.

"But does that even matter? He'll be falling for you just as much as you'll be falling for him."

_'Never mind; I take that back.' _"Look Fia, I already told you countless times that I'm only doing this to get that promotion." Again, she felt that ghastly tug on her heart and tried to ignore it. "I can't afford to fall in love with him."

"Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me that you haven't already."

A small gasp escaped her lips as she heard her friend's words. '_Have I already fallen for him?'_

"Karin, don't hurt yourself like this. I can see it in your eyes. You feel sorry for using him, don't you?"

Fiammetta knew her best friend felt horrible for doing this since she was never one to use people. In fact, she believed that Karin would soon forget about the job and go for the guy instead. But it all depended on how he felt for her.

Karin passed a hand through her semi-long dark hair and replied guiltily, "Yes, I feel sorry for using him; guilty for using anyone for that matter. But…" '…_it doesn't even matter,' _she sadly finished. '_I'll be living alone anyway. So what's a few broken hearts?' _"But feeling remorse is not the same as falling in love."

She could clearly see the pain in her eyes and stopped pressing. Fiammetta knew better than to do that to her friend. So instead, she quickly changed the subject and tried getting her mind off of it.

"So how was last night? Were you the belle of the ball? You know you have me to thank, right?"

"Thank. You? I blame you for everything! If you had showed me a picture of the star editor before we left for the party, I wouldn't have made a fool of myself or gotten groped. If you hadn't made me wear those atrocious heels, I wouldn't have tripped or almost been raped. If you hadn't rushed me out that night, I wouldn't have forgotten my cardkey or almost caught the flu. If you hadn't—"

"Okay, okay. So you went through a few mishaps. It's no big deal, right? After all, you did get to meet him and all."

"A few mishaps? More like enough to drown someone in it!"

To drown someone in it? Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating just a bit. But it wasn't like Fiammetta needed to know that.

"Alright, I get it! I'm sorry. Now can you get to the point of your rant, or have you already slipped it in without me noticing?"

Sure, Karin was definitely getting on her nerves. But even so, the lavender-haired woman was happy because she had practically forgotten about her guilt.

"No, I do have a point to this."

"Then get to it already!"

She nodded and smiled a little. "Like I said, I blame you for all of those bad things happening to me." Her best friend made a face and was about to protest until Karin glared at her again, making her stop. "However, I do know that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gone to the party in the first place. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have met him and we wouldn't have had dinner together. If it wasn't for you, I would never have been able to find out certain things about him that probably no one else but his family knows."

Fiammetta grinned evilly. "So does that mean…"

"Yes Fia," she sighed, knowing all too well she'd regret saying this. "I do owe you my thanks."

"What's this I hear?" she began in a mocking tone. "Kurosaki Karin is thanking me for using her as a mannequin _and_ for actually being careless? I have to get this on film!"

All she could do was roll her eyes. "Look, there's no time," she said and headed towards the bathroom. "That bastard wants me to work today."

"But you never do weekends! Man that sucks! Will you be finishing early?"

"The only good part of my day."

"Look on the bright side; you can at least look forward to your next date with the editor," she called out from the other side of the bathroom door. "Speaking of which, when are you going to see him?"

"Tonight. I have to get your stuff, remember?"

"That's just perfect!"

"What are you getting at?" Karin questioned carefully.

"We're surprising Shūhei at the club for his birthday, remember? I still can't believe they made him work on his birthday when he's the owner!" She sighed. "Anyways, you can bring him along. It's the perfect opportunity for that second date."

"As much as I appreciate you trying to help me, I don't think it's a good idea. He seems like such a conservative guy. I highly doubt he'd have fun clubbing, especially when our so-called date was really him treating me because I almost got raped by one of his employees. Well, one of his father's employees."

"Newsflash, Karin! You move to about a snail's pace when it comes to relationships. If you expect him to fall in love with you, you'll need my help."

"I don't care."

She pouted. "Fine, then let me come with you. I want to meet your future boyfriend."

"What are you, my mother? C'mon Fia, just leave me alone!"

"Sure, I'll leave you alone. I'll also _leave_ your blackberry somewhere."

Whenever Fiammetta wanted something from Karin, she would always threaten her with her precious stuff. One time, she _left_ her laptop underneath the couch and Fiammetta's brother's dog chewed it senseless.

"You wouldn't…"

"Yes, I would. Didn't it die last night?" she asked innocently. "It must have since you hung up the phone seconds after I answered it, which means you'll be charging it at home since you're not allowed to do that at work. It'd be a shame if you left it in my capable hands, wouldn't it?"

_'She is definitely the devil's daughter.' _"Don't you work late tonight or something?"

"Like I told you before, we're celebrating Shūhei's birthday tonight. So I'm already covered."

_'And I just got my phone last month! I can't let her break my baby.' _"Fine, you can come," Karin grumbled. "But under no circumstances are you to invite him. Got it?"

Unfortunately for Karin, it was already too late for her to hear the warning because the moment she agreed, Fiammetta was already too far from the bathroom to hear anything else.

-0-

A few hours after she left his place, Tōshirō got up and headed straight to the bathroom to do his morning rituals. Then he headed straight into the living room to greet his guest. But when he got there, he noticed that she was gone and that the duvet he covered her with was folded and neatly placed on one side of the couch.

_'Figures,' _he thought. '_All women are the same…_'

He had so much hope for her and thought that maybe, just maybe, she was different. Sadly, he was mistaken…or at least that was what he thought.

Seconds later, he at last spotted a folded up paper on top of the covers and opened it. He didn't really see it at first because it blended so well with the design.

**Sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, but something came up.  
I did, however, have a wonderful time last night. Thanks for the treat!**

**Karin**

**P.S. I hate wearing heels so I went through your shoes and grabbed a pair of your flip flops.  
Sorry for kidnapping them, but at least we each have a captive now. Haha.  
I'll be back later this afternoon to make the trade.**

After reading the letter, Tōshirō was dumbfounded because it was the first time someone had ever left him a letter like this one –and he had met some real weirdoes in the past. Moreover, he had never ever met a woman that would actually borrow his shoes –his cousin and step-sister shuddered at the thought of touching men's shoes. And finally, there was something about her handwriting that made him reminisce about an old pen pal he always used to write to while he was still in high school. Apparently, it was a requirement that all high school students in Tokyo had to do in the past.

_'To pull something like this at our age is so childish, and yet it's those kinds of strange things that make me so attracted to her.'_

Without realizing it, he found himself smiling…again.

-0-

Right after work, the two gals headed to his place. Karin couldn't wait for the visit to end while Fiammetta was, as always, planning something evil behind her back.

"Sorry about leaving like that," apologized Karin as the white-haired man opened the door. "You got the note, right?"

He nodded. "It was…interesting to say the least. You're welcome to sit." He motioned them to his couch, but she refused.

"Thanks for the invite, but we have plans tonight."

"I see," he said while hiding his disappointment. "I'll bring your clothes right away then."

He couldn't understand why he felt so disappointed in finding out that she had other plans that night. Maybe it was because he expected her to stay longer, or maybe because he suspected that she might be going on a date with some other guy. Regardless of the reason, he couldn't shake away that bad feeling in his heart no matter how hard he tried.

After watching him walk away, Fiammetta couldn't help but scold her best friend for not introducing her to him.

"I can't believe you!" she whispered. "You could have let him talk to me, you know?"

"Not really," she whispered back. "Besides, hasn't that boat already sailed?"

"Definitely not! Now don't forget to do it or your laptop gets it!"

"My laptop?" she shouted a little louder than she had intended to. "You wouldn't!"

"Is everything alright?" Tōshirō shouted from his room. "I heard someone yelling."

"E-everything's fine!" Karin yelled back nervously and then glared at the woman standing beside her. "Fine! Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Me, act stupid?" she replied in a mock hurt tone. "We've been best friends since university and you act like you don't know me."

"Unfortunately, I do know you! That's why I'm saying it."

"Fine, I'll be nice," Fiammetta promised unconvincingly. "Scout's honour."

"Scout's honour my ass… Certainly, Fia." Karin quickly corrected herself the moment she spotted Tōshirō walk back into the living room. "Thanks." She grabbed her clothes and handed him his. "I made sure to wash everything. Oh and sorry about the flip flops."

"That's okay. I barely wear them anyway."

Before she could say anything else, Fiammetta cleared her throat as if telling her, 'You better not forget about me!'

The other woman sighed. "Tōshirō, I'd like you to meet a close friend of mine, Hatsumi Fiammetta. Fia, meet Hitsugaya Tōshirō."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Fiammetta said with utmost kindness in her voice. "Karin has told me much about you, Mr. Editor."

"Funny, she never mentioned you." He hadn't meant to say it harsh like he did, but once it slipped out there was no stopping it.

Karin could only laugh in the background.

_'So I'm not important enough for her to mention me, huh?' _she thought deviously. '_Looks like payback's coming sooner than you think.' _"So Hitsugaya-san, about our plans tonight."

Karin knew where this was going and elbowed her in the rib. "Don't you dare," she hissed while keeping a straight face.

Ignoring her warning, Fiammetta kept her smile and continued. "We're going to _Le Baron de Paris_ to surprise my boyfriend at work since it's his birthday today. Would you care to join us?"

"I'm pretty sure Tōshirō has other plans tonight," Karin answered in his place.

He could plainly see that she didn't want him there. Why? He did not know, yet this had greatly upset him. So he decided to voice his own opinion.

"Actually, I don't have much to do tonight. If you really don't mind, I'd love to go." '_What am I thinking?' _he thought. '_Clubbing is Matsumoto's thing, not mine.'_

"That's perfect!"

He mentally slapped himself for not thinking right. Maybe he did it because he was upset that Karin didn't want him there, or maybe he did it because on some subconscious level he wanted to be with her. Either way, there was no turning back now.

"Meet us at the nightclub at eight. We'll be waiting for you."

-0-

_Le Baron de Paris_ was crawling with people who wanted to have a good time. The music was pumping up the crowd and the red lights added flavour to the dances. It really was an amazing nightclub and was thus almost impossible to enter. Good thing Fiammetta's boyfriend was the owner because anyone who wanted in had to have some kind of connection to the club. Non-VIP's never had the best treatment.

After squeezing through the crowd, they finally made it to a door in the back marked 'Staff Only'. Although heavily guarded by two well-built bouncers, they easily passed through because they knew the two women very well.

As soon as they passed a few doors and made a left at the end of the hall, they were supposed to see the birthday man working in his office. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found and the door was open.

Knowing exactly where he'd go, Fiammetta made her way to one of the back doors and poked her head out. She smiled the moment she spotted him and thought, '_He always comes here whenever he's stressed out or bored out of his mind. I can see why, though. The serenity of the night sky is a nice change from the noisy nightclub.'_

After internally debating whether she should bother him or not, Fiammetta decided on the former and covered his eyes with her hands, whispering, "Guess who?"

Automatically, he placed his hands over hers and smiled. "Mom, is that you?" he joked.

"Very funny."

"Thanks, I thought so." He turned around and leaned in for a kiss, but was immediately stopped by his girlfriend.

"I don't think so," she teased. "You're being punished for getting it wrong."

In the midst of their conversation, Karin cleared her throat. "Are you going to stop any time soon or do you two need a room?"

Fiammetta rolled her eyes. "You just had to interrupt," she joked.

"Why else, right?" she playfully replied and then went to hug the club owner. "Happy birthday, Shūhei."

"Thanks." From behind her shoulders, the man finally noticed another individual with white hair and asked, "Who's the new guy?"

"This is Karin's _friend_, Hitsugaya Tōshirō. Hitsugaya-san, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Hisagi Shūhei."

Both men nodded and shook hands.

"C'mon Shūhei," said his girlfriend and dragged him to his office. "I haven't wished you a _proper_ birthday yet."

He smiled. "You know I'm still working."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a problem if you took your break now," she purred in his ear.

_'Now we each get our time alone,'_ Fiammetta thought and walked away with her boyfriend.

Karin rolled her eyes, oblivious to the plan her best friend had sprung. "Let's go to the bar and order some drinks, Tōshirō. They'll be gone all night."

He nodded and they left.

As soon as they made their way to the bar, Karin called out to the bartender, "Two Duncan MacLeod's, please."

"Two, huh? Someone's starting off strong," said the voice of a man.

Surprised to hear this familiar voice, Karin looked up to see a man with messy blond hair and clad in green. "Urahara-san? What are you doing here?"

"So you do remember me! I was afraid you wouldn't."

She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Who the hell could forget such an annoying teacher like you?"

"What was that?"

"I said who could ever forget such an _amazing_ teacher like you?"

"Oh please stop."

"Anyways, what brings you here? I thought you were still at the dojo?"

"With a wife like Yoruichi and the lack of new students these days, there's only so much I can do. So it was either lay on my butt and do nothing, or get a job. Sadly, she forced me to choose the latter," he complained.

Karin sweatdropped. '_What is it with him and always picking the easier way of living? How did Yoruichi even marry him?' _"Wow, fascinating," she replied sarcastically. "So the drinks?"

"Coming right up!" yelled the bartender with a smile.

The two watched as the man juggled their glasses in the air while mixing coca-cola, scotch whiskey and sake. When the show was over, he poured the mixed drinks over some crushed ice and served it to them.

"Here you go!"

"Thanks!"

She handed him the money and the two headed to a nearby table that overlooked the dance floor.

"Who was that man?" Tōshirō asked and took a sip of his drink.

"Jealous?" she teased.

He choked.

"Relax, I was only kidding. The man's an old friend of my old man's, Urahara Kisuke. He also used to be my old karate teacher."

"A guy like him used to be a karate teacher?"

"I know, hard to believe, huh? At first glance, he doesn't really look like much, but trust me on this one. He will kick your ass before you even get a chance to blink. Fortunately, he isn't unstoppable. His wife, Yoruichi, is the only person that can get the better of him. It's really funny to see a grown man whipped like that," she mused. "Wouldn't you think, Tōshirō?"

"Why do you keep calling me by my first name? I hardly think it's appropriate since we're only acquaintances."

"Only…acquaintances?" she asked, feeling hurt by his remark. Now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense since the man hadn't made a move yet. "I-I guess you're right. But I'm not really one for honorifics. So stop calling me Kurosaki and just refer to me as Karin, okay?"

Before he could say anything else, she gulped down the rest of her drink and quickly asked him to dance. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

"No thanks. I'd much rather listen to the music."

"A-are you sure?"

She hated to admit it, but the woman felt rejected. She never knew it'd hurt this bad. Did that mean she liked him? She mentally shook her head. She didn't like him and it was his lost. Whether it was a deal or not, if he didn't have any interest in her, then she'd find another way to distract him. 

He nodded. "Positive. I'm not much of a dancer, anyway. But please, don't let me stop you."

"Alright."

Karin effortlessly made her way to the dance floor, avoiding the collisions from other people until she arrived at the center of it all. She closed her eyes, felt the notes seep into her skin and began to dance as soon as the second verse began.

_'It's his lost,' _she continuously repeated. '_I shouldn't even feel this hurt. He wasn't worth it, I suppose.' _

She had no idea why she was feeling so affected. They weren't even dating for crying out loud! And yet here she was, feeling like she had just been punched in the gut.

-0-

As she danced her heart out, Tōshirō sat in his seat, wondering if he had been too harsh.

_'Didn't you say she was interesting? Weren't you the one who said you were attracted to her? So why the hell did you act like such an idiot?'_

Clearly he had seen the hurt in her eyes as she repeated his words, but he hadn't really noticed it until it was already too late.

_'Have you been so hurt by other women that you can't even trust the one person that might be different?'_

He sighed heavily and scanned the dance floor for the raven-haired woman. It didn't take him too long to find her. But the moment he laid his eyes upon her figure was the moment he thought he'd never look away. Just the way she moved to the rhythm and danced so gracefully despite being alone bewitched him.

But then, the spell was broken the minute he saw another man approach her. He felt angry and wanted nothing more than to kill the stranger.

_'Am I…jealous?'_ he wondered. '_I couldn't be jealous because that would imply that I was falling for the woman.'_

But no matter how many times he tried to convince himself, he couldn't stand it any longer. And without even realizing it, his body was making its way to the dance floor.

-0-

Karin knew she was being watched. She could tell that a man was watching her every moves. And when the man finally spoke to her, she politely rejected him because deep down in her heart, she knew he wasn't the guy for her.

When he left, a new song played and Karin decided to ignore her surroundings. As of now, dancing was the only thing she could do to escape from reality and from the pain she felt.

Suddenly, she felt a cold hand brush against her bare shoulder and shivered.

"Hey," greeted a familiar voice. "Mind if I cut in?"

Her eyes widened when she heard him. She simply couldn't believe that he was right beside her this very minute. "I thought you said that dancing wasn't for you? Were you jealous when that guy came by?" she teased. '_Why would he be jealous? We're mere **acquaintances** in his eyes.'_

"I guess you could say that. Either way, I can't let someone as lovely as you dance alone, right?"

A smile played at her lips. '_Maybe I was just overlooking things. Let's see if I can kick it up a notch.'_

As the beat increased, both entities moved closer.

"I can show you how to dance, if you want."

She wrapped her arms around his neck while he responded by placing his around her waist. Gently, they swayed their bodies to the rhythm of the music and eventually had their bodies pressed against each other.

And then as if God was playing matchmaker, somebody bumped into the star editor, forcing him to press his lips over hers. Karin didn't know what came over her, but the moment she felt his touch she instantly gave in.

And soon, both were lost in that single kiss, unable to comprehend that they were still on the dance floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Honto ni gomen ne, minna-san! I know that it took me forever to update, but trust me when I say that this chapter was well worth the wait. Not only is it longer than usual, but I've also decided to spice things up a little, making our main characters face some unsettling matters from the past. Enjoy!

* * *

**Broken Hearts**

When they broke apart, they couldn't take their eyes off of each other. Was this fate? Was this true love? Of course not! They had just met! And yet in spite of that, it somehow felt right. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was a simple spur of the moment. Regardless of what it was, they couldn't deny the fact that they loved the feel of the other's lips against their own.

Karin never knew what else to think except for the fact that this man was a good kisser. Although she did kiss a great number of guys beforehand, none of them gave her the thrill and pleasure she felt with him. But it wasn't only in his kisses. She also liked the way his callous, yet gentle hands rubbed against her bare skin and liked the way his sweet, though sometimes cold voice resounded in her ears. In fact, everything about him made her lose her senses. But there was just one thing wrong with the picture. She didn't like the fact that they were making out in public. No, she needed a quiet place so they could continue more profoundly. A selfish and daring move, but she couldn't care less. Right now she wanted him and him alone, and she was certain that it was the same for him. So without a second thought, Karin grabbed Tōshirō's hand and dragged him into the hall where they had hunted down Shūhei earlier that night. But instead of heading into his office, they hastily opened the first unlocked door they could find and closed it behind them.

Before she knew it, she was pinned against the door as their bodies resumed their positions from the dance floor. The only difference now was that the white-haired man trailed kisses along the crook of her neck. A moan of pleasure escaped her lips and again, she felt her senses go wild. What was it about him? That, she did not know. But whatever it was, she implored him not to stop. He simply growled, acknowledging her request, and finally made his way back to her lips.

It was sheer bliss for the two as the kiss deepened with every passing second, and they felt like no amount of force would be able to stop them from proceeding to the next step. But of course, they were proven wrong the moment Karin's phone decided to vibrate. They groaned and reluctantly broke apart long enough for her to reach for her blackberry and mentally kill whoever it was that disturbed her fun.

When she saw who was calling, she simply sighed, thinking, '_Why do you always call when I'm busy?'_ "I have to take this…" she said, panting. "Meet me at the bar?"

He nodded, sad that his lips could no longer taste her, and left.

"Hey Yuzu," she greeted once she had caught her breath. "What's up?"

"Hey Karin. Dad wants to know how long you guys are staying in Karakura."

"Not sure about Ichigo and his family, but you're stuck with me for a whole week."

"Really?" she asked disbelievingly. "That jerk's actually going to let you take the week off?"

"Surprising, huh? If I wasn't there myself, I wouldn't have believed it either. I think he's finally realized how important I am to the company."

By important, she really meant that she had threatened her boss in order to get what she wanted because she knew that whenever his mind was set on one thing, he needed it to be accomplished no matter the cost. It always did pay to have a boss with a one-track mind.

"What's with the loud music? Where are you?" her younger twin asked curiously.

"Oh, that? I'm actually at a club right now. Have you ever heard of _Le Baron de Paris_?"

"Heard of it? I've always wanted to go there! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to travel, especially since I'm six months pregnant."

It had been four years since Yuzu got married to her husband, Hanakari Jinta, and it was only now that they had decided to have a child because hewasn't quite ready yet.

"Even if you wanted to go, you know that Jinta wouldn't let you. Not only does he get jealous, but he's also overprotective. He's like your own personal Ichigo."

Yuzu laughed. "I know, but I still think it's sweet of him. Speaking of which, how's your love life? Met anyone cute?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" she answered, annoyed that her little sister was budding into her love life again. Don't get me wrong, Karin loved her sister to bits. She just hated that Yuzu always made a big deal whenever she dated someone. It was the same for her best friend.

"You do know I have ways, right?"

The elder twin sighed. "Yes, I met someone last night and we were in the middle of something until you called." '_Although I'm glad she did,'_ she added mentally. '_The longer we kissed, the harder it was to say no to him.'_

"Oh my God!" Yuzu squealed. "You have to tell me everything!"

She sighed again and sat on the floor, knowing all too well that if her little sister asked for an explanation it was going to be a while before she got back to her tall, tanned and handsome editor.

_'Hope you're a patient guy,'_ Karin thought and then started her story, making sure to leave out the part about the favour. She knew that if her little sister found out about the deal, she would make her miserable by playing the guilt card. Karin always hated it when she used it to get her or anybody else for that matter to do the right thing.

-0-

Tōshirō made his way to the bar, grabbed a drink and immersed himself into his thoughts while he waited for Karin.

_'We've only known each other for one night; two if you count tonight. So why do I get this funny feeling like I've known her for years.' _He smiled to himself as he thought of her being _that_ girl from his high school days. '_Could she really be_ **_her_**?'

Too engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't realize that a woman clad in a black mini-squirt and a red revealing top approached him until she spoke.

"Well, well, well. What brings you here, Hitsugaya-san?"

"Kinoshita?" he yelled, recognizing this woman to be his ex from his college days. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?"

Tōshirō scoffed. "Hardly; more like a slutty whore!"

"You still hold a grudge?" she asked, acting as if she was the one in pain. "That was like…what? Five years ago? Isn't it about time you let it go?"

"You cheated on me with someone who I thought was my best friend! It's not something I can easily forget!"

"But I was trying to protect you," she lied. "He was after your money. So I pretended to date him just so you could see how much of a slime ball he really was." The woman known as Kinoshita clasped his hands with hers and begged for forgiveness. "You have to believe me! I never meant to hurt you."

Tōshirō got out of her hold and looked at her with disgust, saying cruelly, "Forgive you? Do you honestly think that I would forgive you after you pulled that shit?"

"Please don't do this!" she begged again, only this time she was shedding fake tears. "I promise I'll be a better girlfriend if you let me back into your life."

Although very convincing, the star editor knew she was faking it. "You say that you'll be a better girlfriend, but I know you far better than that. You'll be nice for a few weeks and once I give you back my trust, you'll betray me again."

"What are you talking about? I have never cheated on you."

"So I guess those other men you slept with behind my back we're also 'going after my money'? Face it, you and I both know that the only thing you like is sleeping with other men. Therefore, you'll never be a better girlfriend."

No matter how true his words were, Kinoshita was upset. Nobody spoke to her like that. "If you knew I slept with all of those other men, why didn't you break up with me the moment you found out? Why did you wait until you caught me with your best friend?"

Why? He constantly asked himself that every day ever since they broke up. Why did he not believe his cousin when she told him about her affairs? Why did he not confront her when he saw her with those other men? Why did he stay with her for seven long years? And more importantly, why did it hurt him so much to see her face to face right now? Tōshirō was at a loss for words and had no idea how to answer them. But Kinoshita knew. Whether he hated her or not, she knew that no matter what she did he would always love her. Even now. She could tell how much of a pain it was to see her.

"I'll tell you why," she said and grinned evilly. "No matter what I do, you'll always come back to me because _I _was the _only_ one who loved _you _for who you were. Nobody dared come close to you because of the way you looked and acted, and if anybody had the guts to it would only be because you were rich."

"I will never come back to you because I've already moved on," he lied, knowing full well that she was right. After all, Kinoshita Kagura wasn't just a crush. She was his first real love. But he couldn't let her know that because he knew that she would take full advantage of it.

"Oh?" she replied, pretending to be shocked. "So you've met someone new." '_I wonder what you would do if you saw her cheating with another man.'_

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Tōshirō left his drink on the side bar and got up from his chair only to be pulled back down by his ex-girlfriend.

"Hold on, Hitsugaya-san. This woman you happen to be dating. Does she have semi-long black hair and light eyes?"

Although surprised, his expression remained unchanged. "How would you know that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I remember seeing you leave with a woman fitting that description last night and assumed it was her."

"So what about her?"

In the corner of her eye, she could see that her plan was already in motion. All that was left was to add fuel to the fire.

"Isn't that her right there?" she asked, acting shocked and confused, and pointed towards a man and a woman fitting Karin's description making out. "I guess I'm not the only one who cheats."

Tōshirō followed his ex's hand and couldn't believe his eyes. There against one of the club walls was Karin, kissing some medium well-built man with brown hair.

_'Impossible,'_ he thought angrily. '_I thought that… And after all this time…'_

He didn't know what else to think except for the fact that she was cheating on him. It was true that their relationship had yet to be official, but he had assumed that she might have been the one to ease his tortured soul. After all, she had gone through the same pain as him, right? RIGHT?

Kagura smirked as she saw his reaction. '_Perfect! My idiot of a brother has **finally** done something right.'_ "I know that I hurt you in the past," she began and placed a hand on his cheek, turning him away from the scene until teal green met red, "but why don't we let bygones be bygones?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. He was too heartbroken to form any words.

She, on the other hand, took that as her opportunity to strike and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, and whispered seductively, "I know that you haven't been the same after I did what I did. But like I told you, it was to protect you. Hitsugaya-san, after all this time I still love you." She nibbled on his ear in order to further weaken his resolve and then captured his lips, but not before saying, "Tell me that you still don't love me."

The minute he felt her touch, Tōshirō hastily wrapped his arms around her waist, remembering all the good times he had with her, and traced the contours of her exposed skin as he deepened the kiss. She let out a soft moan and the man took full advantage of it, sliding his tongue into her mouth.

-0-

After a long talk with her sister, Karin didn't know what to think anymore. She knew that she shouldn't be falling for him, but she couldn't help it. The more time she spent with him, the more she felt attracted to him. And soon, she knew that whatever restraints she had left were bound to commit suicide. And then nothing would be able to stop her from falling madly in love with him.

_'Now's not the time to think of that,'_ she thought as she made her way across the dance floor. '_Let's just take this one step at a time. I'll have to sort out my feelings after toni_—'

The woman was immediately jerked out of her thoughts as an arm suddenly pulled her away from the crowd and pressed her back against a wall that was in clear view of the second floor. She smiled at first, thinking it was Tōshirō, but immediately scowled the moment her eyes came face to face with familiar red ones.

"What the hell do you want from me?" she yelled with acidity in her voice. "Didn't I tell you I never wanted to see you again?"

"Oh c'mon, baby. I'm sorry I left you. It was a mistake."

"A mistake? A mistake is writing the wrong answers to a test. A mistake is reading something you weren't supposed to by accident. A mistake is forgetting to tell your best friend 'Happy Birthday' when it's their birthday. What you did is _far_ from it! Now get your hands off of me before I do something that I've been meaning to do ever since you broke up with me because I wasn't _hot_ enough for you."

"Baby, please!" he begged. "I'm miserable without you!"

"Tough luck, bastard! I've already found someone, and in spite of his status he isn't as superficial as you."

When the man still wouldn't let go, Karin took her free hand and slapped her ex-boyfriend, leaving a red handprint on the left side of his cheek, and made her escape. She would have punched him instead, but due to the lack of space she knew that the punch would not have been as effective as her slap.

Unfortunately, the man wouldn't let her have it. So he ran after her and grabbed her again, only this time with more force. Then he thrust her against another wall, this time trapping both of her wrists with vice grip-like hands, and kissed her.

As their lips connected, she felt powerless. But it wasn't because she melted in his kiss –oh no, she hated it because after she had a taste of Tōshirō's lips, everything felt incomparable to his. It was because she could not move in spite of being skilled in karate. Although he didn't show it, this man was stronger than he looked and he made an effort to make sure that she couldn't struggle. So unable to do a thing, she waited until he loosened his grip. And when he did, she pulled out of it and kneed him right where it hurt. The pain was so great that the man doubled over in tears before he passed out.

Karin felt good as she walked away from her unconscious ex, but she couldn't shake the fact that she felt dirty and guilty after allowing the man to press his filthy lips upon hers. Though the two were not officially dating, she knew that they eventually would. So she thought that it would be best to come clean.

When she made it to the bar, she spotted something that she was unprepared for… Something like Tōshirō pressing his lips against someone else's rather than hers. This infuriated her and caused her to order a few drinks. If he was going to act all innocent and pull something like this on her, then she better gulp something down before she kicked the living crap out of him.

Once the drinks were ready, Urahara handed them to her, giving her an are-you-sure-you-should-be-drinking-this-much-liquor look, and she simply gave him an I-can-do-whatever-the-hell-I-want glare. He gave up, knowing that if you valued you life you would stay away from a pissed Kurosaki –even Yuzu– and turned to the next customer.

Karin gulped down her first drink and said coldly, "I heard that skanks these days have rabies. You better watch out, _Hitsugaya_."

At the sound of her voice, Tōshirō stiffened and the two broke apart.

"Oh, I'm _sorry_, was I interrupting something? I was just thinking out loud."

Although he was hurt by her betrayal, his anger got the better of him. "You're one to talk," he said, mimicking her cruel tone. "Weren't you playing tonsil-hockey with some random man a little while ago?"

The accused woman merely shook her head in disappointment. "First of all, that guy I 'played tonsil-hockey with' as you so put it was my most recent ex; someone that I hate more than anything in the world, though right now you're coming pretty close to it. Second, _he_ forced himself onto _me_ and prevented me from doing anything until the kiss was loosened. If you were there, you would have seen me sack the guy so hard I could have sworn that the other men surrounding us felt it." Karin smirked a little, remembering all of their scared faces as she walked by them, and then continued her rant. "Third, even if I were to kiss some stranger, kissing some skank like her doesn't really solve the problem, now does it?"

She waited for him to answer, hoping that maybe he had an explanation like her, but when nothing came Karin knew she had wasted her last breath on him.

"I thought you knew me better than that. That I would never cheat on anyone because I know how it feels like to be betrayed by someone you once loved. But I guess I was sorely mistaken." She scoffed. "You really disappoint me."

Karin grabbed the remaining drinks and proceeded to go to the back of the club until she was stopped by none other than Whitey McCheater. The look in his eyes told her that he was hurt, but she couldn't give him a break. No, not after what he had done.

"You know, for a moment you had me fooled, making me think that you had been hurt just as much as I had been. But now I know that you're just like all the other men. You'd do anything just to get inside of a woman's pants."

Her last words carved a nasty hole in his heart and he let her go, watching her figure disappeared in the crowd.

-0-

It was a low blow to have said that, Karin knew it the minute those words flew out of her mouth, but she was so furious with him that she couldn't think straight. Now that she was alone, she regretted it and sighed, thinking that she was the biggest idiot in the world. She knew how sensitive he was about _that_ particular subject because he was always being used by the female population, not the other way around. She just _had_ to open her big fat mouth and make that stupid remark.

_'Way to go, Karin,'_ she thought._ 'You did a splendid job of showing him that you liked him. I wouldn't be surprised if he went home by now.'_

She took another swig of her drink and looked around, hoping to find himnearby in spite of what had transpired minutes ago. To her dismay, a large, obnoxious and ugly man with black hideous hair headed her way instead.

"Hey, gorgeous," he greeted with a creepy smile that spelled rapist, "if you come home with me, I can show you a real good time."

She rolled her eyes. '_Wow, is he seriously trying to use one of those lame lines on me?'_ "You know what your problem is? Your mouth is writing cheques that your body can't cash."

"Ouch. If I didn't have such a big ego, that would have hurt. But seriously, I can tell that you're a woman that loves to travel. I know I do. So why don't we get out of here and find ourselves a nice place?"

She took a sip of her alcoholic drink –her third or fourth, she couldn't remember– and looked away, attempting to ignore him.

"I'm also a man that loves sex, so I can guarantee you a wonderful time. Now what do you say to that?"

Annoyed, she turned to him and asked, "So… You like sex and travel?"

The man smiled as he nodded his head.

"Then go take a fucking hike!"

"Oh c'mon beautiful, you know you want some of this."

"Don't you get it? I'm not interested!" she hissed. "Now bug off!"

"What's the matter?" he asked, pulling a seat next to her. "Feeling lonely?"

He glided his fingers over her right arm and she swatted them away, giving him one of her nastiest glares.

"Touch me again and I swear I won't be held responsible for what I do next."

Taking this as the perfect opportunity, the fat man slipped an arm around her waist with his left hand and carefully slipped a white tablet into one of her drinks unnoticed with the other.

Annoyed and disgusted, she dug her nails into his crotch and threatened him with one of her most deadliest tones. "Leave now or I'll make sure you lose the capacity of making children."

He gasped, slightly frightened by her actions, but managed to say, "Alright, babe. I'll leave for now, but I'll be back."

-0-

"You planed all of this, didn't you?"

By now, the editor was livid with the woman who had manipulated him not once, but twice.

"And what if I did? It's not like you would have been happy with _her._ You've got me and that's all that counts."

"You?" he scoffed. "Who the hell told you that I still wanted to be with you?"

Unfazed by his rude tone, the woman simply answered, "Judging by the way you kissed me, I'd say that you wanted me pretty badly."

"You're right," he began as he thought about the kiss and how needy he must have seemed. "I did want you."

"That's what I thought," she simply stated and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm simply too irresistible."

Not even a second within her grasp, the man moved away with disgust plastered on his face and said coldly, "I said I _did_ want you; _did_ being the keyword here."

"Are you kidding me? You're going to reject _me_ for that _thing_?"

"One, Karin's not a thing. She's a woman with a kind heart, not like you'd know what it feels like to have one."

Kagura wanted to say something, but the way he spoke to her made her speechless. Whatever happened to the man she could easily control?

"Two, after seeing the hurt in Karin's eyes, I've finally realized that you're hardly worth my time. I honestly don't know what the hell I was thinking for staying with you for seven years."

And with that, the editor left the woman standing alone as he searched for a heartbroken Karin.

It had been a little over fifteen minutes now and he still could not find her.

_'Karin, where the hell are you? Have you already gone home?'_

Thinking that he was going nowhere by just blindly chasing after her without thinking, Tōshirō took the first seat he could find and decided to assess the current situation.

_'When she came here, she had a few drinks in her hands, meaning that she couldn't have gotten too far from this place. If she's not in the back, she's either dancing downstairs, waiting for a cab outside or heading home. I highly doubt that she would be dancing because if she was still trying to avoid me, she would have gone home. Maybe I should check outside.'_

As he continued to ponder, Tōshirō could not help himself from overhearing a conversation taking place right beside him.

"So Ōmaeda, have you taken care of her?"

"Obviously I did, Iba. It should take about another ten minutes before she's gone, and then we can have our little fun."

"So what are we having now?"

"A real hottie. Semi-long black hair, curves in all the right places and an attitude to boot."

"She definitely sounds interesting."

_'Damn it,' _Tōshirō thought. '_It can't be her, can it? I have to hurry.'_

-0-

As Karin made her way outside, she leaned against the closest wall, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feel of her hair billowing in the light breeze. It was a nice sensation after being cooped up in that nightclub, but it merely encouraged her to succumb to her tiredness.

Just when she thought she was as good as gone, the sounds of footsteps hitting the pavement kept her awake. At first they sounded very light, indicating that they were light-years away, but as time passed, she realized that they were getting louder. Eventually, the footsteps stopped and she could feel the warmth radiating from the owner as he placed a hand over her forehead.

"Are you alright?" asked a familiar voice.

She knew who the owner of that voice was and recognized his touched, but she could not fathom why he was currently next to her. Was he not with some other woman before she walked-in on them? They looked pretty cozy before she had interrupted. So if that was the case, why was he with her right now? No matter how many question were swarming through her head, she did not dare ask him in fear of giving it away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, this time sounding very concerned.

But still, she did not answer. She had to remain silent because she knew that if she didn't, he would not leave her.

"Oi, Karin!" he said a little louder, placing his hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at him with half-opened eyes. He could see how red her cheeks were from the mix of the alcohol and drugs. "Damn it!" he cursed. "We have to get you to a hospital, ASAP!"

Tōshirō reached down and began to scoop her in his arms until he was immediately stopped by the arrival of more footsteps.

"Looks like someone beat us to the bitch," said a man with a cigarette in his mouth. The way he looked reminded Tōshirō of a yakuza gang member; what with the black slicked hair, dark shades and tattoos of both a cat on fire on his left arm and the kanji shōfuku (inviting luck) on his right.

But regardless of how he looked, the editor wasn't scared. If anything, it merely pushed his resolve of protecting Karin even further.

"Leave now and I swear I won't hurt you," he growled as he stood in front of her.

The fat man beside the yakuza look-alike chuckled at his empty threat. "Well we didn't expect her to have a boyfriend, ne, Iba?"

"Nope," the man named Iba answered. "Judging by how hurt she seemed, I would have thought otherwise."

"But at least we're prepared for anything." As he said that, both men took out a black Smith & Wesson pistol and pointed it at him. "If you leave now and never speak of this, we'll let you live."

"Over my dead body," he replied.

"Fine by me," Iba said indifferently. "I'm not really one to follow laws, anyway."

At the sound the trigger, Karin jolted up from her position and pushed Tōshirō out of the way, taking a shot to her left arm and another to her side. She winced in pain as the bullets grazed her skin, biting on her bottom lip to prevent her from screaming.

All of a sudden, the whole area was surrounded by cops, each holding a silver Glock.

"_Ōmaeda_Marechiyo and Iba Tetsuzaemon, you're both under arrest for the murders of Kurotsuchi Nemu, Sarugaki Hiyori and Yadomaru Lisa," said a short and petite woman with black hair. "Now unless you want to be shot at, I suggest the two of you cooperate. Shiba siblings, take care of these idiots."

"Yes, Captain Soifon!" they yelled in unison and proceeded to handcuff the men.

"Abarai, take care of Kuro-chan."

"Yes, Captain Soifon!" said a man with red long hair that was placed in a ponytail. He quickly made his way to the injured woman and scooped Karin into his arms, telling her, "Why do you always get hurt when I specifically tell you not to get involved? Do you know what your brother's going to do to me?"

"The more reason not to tell him, Renji!" she replied. "You know how my brother gets."

Renji rolled his eyes and turned towards the white-haired man. "Hey you, I need you to help Karin stop the bleeding. She won't be able to do it all by herself."

Tōshirō nodded and left with Renji, sitting beside Karin in the back of his vehicle, while the rest of the police force dealt with Iba and Ōmaeda.

"W-wait a minute!" Iba shouted. "Y-you have no right touching us! We have diplomatic immunity."

The Tokyo police commander scoffed. "Tch, I hate scum like you, always taking advantage of your damn diplomatic immunity."

The diplomats smirked a little, expecting the cops to back off, but scowled when they felt the Shiba siblings shove them against the wall.

"What is the meaning of this? Do you know what the Chinese government will do to this damn country if you don't let go of us this instant?"

"Oh? Did we forget to tell you?" Soifon said, feigning innocence. "Although it is true that we cannot enforce our laws on you because of that damn immunity, we have managed to convince the Chinese government to waiver your safety net."

"WHAT?" the idiots shouted at the same time.

"That's right. With their permission, we have been given full access to do whatever the hell we please with you," she said in a threatening tone. "And if you somehow do manage to escape death row, let alone three life sentences in prison, your country will be more than happy to deal with you."

* * *

**A/N:** There are two comebacks that I did not come up with. The one about 'taking a hike' and the 'cashing checks' is taken from a website I found on the internet. I simply edited it so it could fit with my story. The rest was taken from my head (whether they already existed or not, I have no idea). Anyways, here's the website I got the comebacks from. Feel free to check them out, especially the women. XD

http:/www. fjellstad. org/tavern/relationships/rebuttals. html (remove spaces)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hey there guys! Here's another extra long chapter. Not sure if I'll be making it a habit, so enjoy them while they still last. XD Anyways… First thing I have to say is that this chapter has two parts to it. In case you guys didn't understand how Karin saved Tōshirō when she was supposed to be drugged, I've explained it in a mini flashback with a slightly different interpretation of the last part of the previous chapter. The second part is the actual chapter. Second thing, on my profile I have an important poll posted. I need to know your opinion on which song you want featured in this story. The poll will be open until further notice. Finally, this chapter turned out a little differently from what I had originally planned, so I hope you still like it.

A huge thank you to **Misteree Gurl** for helping me out with this chapter! The dialogues sound so much better now. Cheers to you! ^.^

* * *

_Karin was irritated beyond belief. After her unpleasant encounter with Tōshirō, she had hoped to unwind with the alcoholic drinks in her hands. But as luck would have it, she was instead greeted by a stupid behemoth. Now that her night was completely ruined, Karin decided that it was about time that she headed home and left her untouched drinks on the table._

_As she stepped outside, she found her cousins, Shiba Kaien and Shiba __Kūkaku,_ stationed outside, leaning against the side of a black SUV. Curious, she hid behind a nearby wall and listened to their conversation.

_"I can't believe you, __Kūkaku! How could you have forgotten to wear your clubbing clothes? You knew today was the day you would confront them!"_

_"How is this my fault? You should have reminded me!" Kūkaku retorted. _

_"This was **your **responsibility. Not mine."_

_"Will you just relax? Kira said he was going to bring it for me."_

_"But now we'll be delayed because of you," Kaien complained. "Captain Soifon__ will have our heads if we lose them again."_

_"I know, I know! You don't have to remind me, you idiot!"_

_While Karin concentrated on their conversation, a black cat crept up from behind her and rubbed against her leg unnoticed. Startled, she let out a scream._

_Both cops immediately took action and ran in her direction. Being the quicker runner out of the two, the older brother grabbed his little cousin by the wrists and locked them behind her back. _

_"Okay punk, tell me what you're doing here and I'll consider letting you go."_

_"Kaien, Kūkaku!" she yelled, cringing in pain. "It's me, Karin!"_

_"Karin?" He released his grip and turned her around. "Well I'll be, it really is you." Although happy to see his cousin, he was still somewhat upset. "How many times have we told you to never sneak up on us? We could have seriously hurt you, you know?"_

_'And bending my arms the wrong way wasn't considered as hurting me?' __she wondered. "I know, I know. I just… I didn't want to bother you at work."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "And you thought doing this was much safer?"_

_"It was a good idea at the time."_

_Kaien rolled his eyes. "You really do have a one-track mind."_

_"You're not one to talk, Kaien," she joked._

_"That's true," Kūkaku added, finally deciding to join in on the conversation. "So Kuro-chan, what the hell are you doing here?"_

_"It was __Shūhei's birthday today, so Fia and I decided to pay him a visit. __What about you two?_"

_"You ever heard of __Iba Tetsuzaemon and __Ōmaeda__ Marechiyo?" she asked._

_"You mean the diplomats from China?"_

_She nodded. "According to our tracking unit, the both of them were seen entering this club, meaning that they're ready to strike again."_

_"Again?"_

_"You've heard of the mysterious killings, right?"_

_Karin nodded. _

_"Well they're the ones responsible. Hold on, let me show you a picture. Maybe you can help us locate them."_

_Kūkaku left her brother's side and headed into the car to get the picture while Kaien continued to talk to his little cousin._

_"We were supposed to be inside by now, but as you probably overheard, my sister decided to come in her uniform instead of her undercover outfit." Kaien sighed. "She can be pretty careless sometimes."_

_When she got back, she smacked her brother on the head._

_He rubbed the back of his head and shouted, "What the hell was that for?" _

_"For talking behind my back," his sister answered. "Don't you know it's rude?"_

_"Why you__—__"_

_Before he could retort back, Kūkaku quickly interrupted him by showing Karin the picture of the diplomats. _

_"As of yet, we haven't disclosed any detailed report to the public because bastards like them take advantage of their diplomatic immunity."_

_Karin gazed at the pictures for quite some time before realizing that she had met at least one of them. _

_"I know that guy." She pointed at the picture with the name Ōmaeda__ Marechiyo printed underneath it. "He tried to hit on me about five minutes ago."_

_"He did?" she asked, seething venomous words through her teeth, and scrunched the paper with her fist. _

_"He didn't do anything to you, did he? Put anything in your drink, maybe?" Kaien asked, equally upset._

_"No, I'm okay. As for the drinks, I left them untouched after my encounter with the guy."_

_Both Shiba siblings sighed in relief._

_"Karin, if you would have stayed and drunk those drinks, you would have been the next victim."_

_"Seriously?" _

_The woman was surprised. Who would have thought that by leaving because her night was completely ruined, she had saved herself from certain death?_

_He nodded. "Just be careful on your way home tonight, okay?"_

_"Kaien, wait," __Kūkaku began. "T_his could be to our advantage. Kira has yet to bring me my clothes and it'll take a while for them to target me since they already started with Karin. Maybe she can help us."

_"Are you crazy?" he questioned. "Like I'd let her take on your job. Think again."_

_"Don't be stupid, brother. You know that this is the only way. Besides, it's not like Karin hasn't helped us before."_

_Kaien stood there silently, contemplating the idea of his little cousin helping out, and sighed. "Fine. Karin, you think you're up to it?"_

_"Hell yeah! It's been two years since I last helped out. It'll be fun!"_

_"What'll be fun?" asked a new voice._

_All three turned around and saw Ichigo's best friend, a man with long red hair and tattoos, walking towards them with a cigarette in his mouth. Just as he reached them, he threw his cigarette bud on the ground and stepped on it._

_"Karin said she's going to help us."_

_"Oh no you don't! There's no way in hell that I'm letting Karin take your job, __Kūkaku. You'll just have to wait."_

_"C'mon, Renji!" the girl in question argued. "Like she said, it's not like I haven't done this before."_

_"I still don't like it. The last time you helped us with something this big, you were stabbed in the leg."_

_"But that was when I first started, Renji. I've had plenty of training since then; and you were the one that personally made sure I was ready for almost anything. Just let me help out," she begged. "I'll be fine."_

_"But you're not a part of the __keishichō__ (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department)__! Granted we did require your assistance in the past because we were short of hands, but this is different. I don't want you a part of this! It's far too dangerous and__—"_

_"Renji, just let her. You know how our family works. Once we decide on something, we usually don't go back."_

_"But Kaien, you can't be serious about sending your own little cousin out there with those bastards."_

_"As much as I don't want her to do it, she's already decided."_

_Renji sighed. "Fine, but if anything happens to you, I'll kill you."_

_"Thanks, Renji. You won't be disappointed."_

_Although the plan was made in a matter of seconds, Karin knew exactly what she had to do. She had to get their attention, act drugged, and hope that the cops would catch them before they did anything to her. It was a simple plan and she was ready. _

_After taking a few moments to reassure Renji that everything was going to be fine, the raven-haired woman made her way inside. She ordered some water instead of alcohol and scanned her surroundings. Not too far from where she stood, Karin saw the diplomats and waited for them to look at her. _

_Once she felt their eyes on her, she groggily made her way outside and leaned against the wall that __was mentioned in the plan. She closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze on her warm skin, and waited for the scumbags to come._

_It didn't take long for her to hear the sounds of footsteps. But for some reason, something didn't feel right. The footsteps sounded like someone was running towards her as if they were worried about her condition, not walking calmly as if they did not want to arouse suspicion to their prey. Was it someone else?_

_Her silent question was soon answered when the footsteps stopped and she felt a familiar hand pressed against her forehead. She knew this touch, but did not dare speak his name. She was afraid of being right. If this person was indeed him, he was bound to be in danger because not only would this compromise the plan, but he could get himself seriously hurt if he decided to play hero._

_"Are you alright?" _

_It was too late. The moment he spoke was the moment she confirmed his presence. _

'What the hell is he doing here?'_ she wondered. '_Shouldn't he be with that skank? Didn't he make it clear that he didn't want me here?'

_"What's wrong?" he asked, this time sounding very concerned._

_Karin remained quiet in fear of giving her act away. The men were due any time now and she couldn't afford to give it all away just to comfort him._

_"Oi, Karin!" he said a little louder, placing his hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at him with half-opened eyes. _

_She blushed from the proximity of his face but remained in character. Oh how she wanted to touch those lips of his again. _

_"Damn it!" he cursed. "We have to get you to a hospital, ASAP!" _

_She felt his arms around her body and her blush deepened._

'Calm down, Karin,'_ she warned herself. '_If you let your heart beat like that, you'll be found out.'

_Try as she might, it didn't really matter. Her targets had finally arrived. _

_"Looks like someone beat us to the bitch," Karin heard a man say and felt Tōshirō release her. _

_"Leave now and I swear I won't hurt you," he growled. _

_Curious to see what was happening, the woman opened her eyes slightly and saw the white-haired man standing in between her and the other men. He was protecting her._

_"Well we didn't expect her to have a boyfriend, ne, Iba?"_

_"Nope. Judging by how hurt she seemed, I would have thought otherwise."_

_"But at least we're prepared for anything." _

_Her eyes widened as she saw them take out two black Smith & Wesson pistols and point them at him. _

'Damn it, Tōshirō. Get the hell out of here!'

_"If you leave now and never speak of this, we'll let you live."_

_"Over my dead body," he replied._

_"Fine by me. I'm not really one to follow laws anyway."_

_At the sound the trigger, Karin jolted up from her position and pushed Tōshirō out of the way, taking a shot to her left arm and another to her side. She winced in pain as the bullets grazed her skin, biting on her bottom lip to prevent her from screaming._

_"You idiot," she mumbled as the keishichō surrounded the area. "Why couldn't you have just stayed with that woman?"_

_Tōshirō stared at her in shock. '_Wasn't she drugged just a moment ago?'

_As if reading his mind, she replied, "I was acting as bait to lure these two out."_

_Before he could yell at her for being careless, he was interrupted by a red-haired man walking in their direction. He stopped in front of Karin, scooped her in his arms, and asked, "Why do you always get hurt when I specifically tell you not to get involved? Do you know what your brother's going to do to me?"_

_"The more reason not to tell him, Renji!" she answered. "You know how my brother gets."_

_Renji rolled his eyes and turned towards the white-haired man. "Hey you, I need you to help Karin stop the bleeding. She won't be able to do it all by herself."_

_Tōshirō nodded and left with Renji, sitting beside Karin in the back of his vehicle, while the rest of the police force dealt with Iba and Ōmaeda. _

* * *

**Confliction and Resolution**

The tension between the two did anything but decrease as Karin and Tōshirō made their way to his car. Even if she did offer to walk him there, hoping to explain what had transpired just a few hours ago, it was still awkward and she wasn't sure how to say it.

"Tōshirō," she began as he said, "Karin."

"Sorry," they replied at the same time. "What? Why are you sorry?"

There was a slight pause before the two broke out into a small laughter. Finally, the tension between the two had ceased.

"Why don't you go first?" he suggested.

She shook her head. "You go."

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions the way I did and I most certainly shouldn't have kissed another woman. It was wrong, I know that. But when I saw you kiss that other man, I just couldn't say no to her. I'm sorry I hurt you, Karin. I really am. I never meant to—"

"I get it," she quickly interrupted, not wanting to hear his excuses any longer. "You were hurt and sought comfort. So you thought that maybe kissing some skank would help ease your pain. It's totally understandable…" In spite of the growing pain inside of her heart, she still managed to sound sarcastic. "I am sick and tired of hearing the same fucking excuses. Just man up! If you didn't like me, you could have just said so. Or better yet, you could have at least done something less painful, like stab me to death. At least I would have died right after."

"Do you hear yourself?" he yelled. "You're overreacting over some kis—"

"Don't you dare tell me I'm overreacting!" she shouted in anger. "You have no idea what I've been through in the past!" By now, tears had begun to form in the crevice of her eyes, but Karin refused to cry. She had too much pride to let him see how much he had affected her. "Thousands of guys telling me that they loved me just so they could fuck around with me, or worst yet, breaking up with me because I was ugly to them! I don't know how many times I've had my heart taken away from me just to find it days later into pieces, but I sure as hell had enough!"

"You're not the only one to hav—"

"I'm not stupid! I know you've gone through hell as well, what with people only liking you because of your looks or your money, but have you ever thought about what your friends would do if _you_ did that to them?"

Hitsugaya Tōshirō was stumped. He had no idea on how to answer her. It was true that he had done the very thing he swore he would never do to another, but it wasn't like he did it on purpose. How could he have known that his ex staged the whole thing?

"That's what I thought."

Karin took a moment to visibly calm down before she spoke again. She knew that taking it out on him wasn't fair of her. After all, she wasn't just pissed about seeing him kiss some other lady. She was also furious about the other shit happening in her life. It just so happened that his was the last straw.

"Look, as much as I wanted to see if there was a you and I, I think it'd be better if we never see each other ever again."

At her words, the white-haired man finally found his voice.

"So you're just running away?"

"Running away?" she repeated. "If running away means I can keep my sanity, then so be it. My heart can't take this anymore." '_I also won't have to hurt you in the near future.' _"Goodbye, Hitsugaya Tōshirō."

As he watched her walk away, he couldn't help but wonder why she was doing this. Clearly she felt the same way he did about her, so why wasn't she doing anything? Did she have some kind of motive to not be with him?

_'My heart can't take this anymore.'_

He knew how broken she was when they had first met, but he never got to hear the whole story, just a few glimpses here and there. Karin never was the type to open-up to strangers. Then again, neither was he.

_'I'll find a way for you to trust me again,'_ he thought. '_I swear to you, Kurosaki Karin.'_

-0-

"Will you look at that? Someone's got a secret admirer," said a man as he and his friend passed by Karin's desk.

"What's wrong, Kazuya?" he asked, catching his friend glaring holes at the head of a cute stuffed dragon holding a bouquet of red roses. "Jealous?"

"Me, jealous?" He scoffed. "As if, Ryohei! I just want to know who in their right mind would send _her_ a bouquet of red roses. It's not like she's that pretty."

Ryohei laughed. "Are you kidding me? She's one of the hottest things around, provided she gets rid of that mess-with-me-and-I'll-kill-you attitude. You're just upset that Kurosaki rejected you since day one."

"Shut up!" he yelled. "She didn't reject me. I just…found something better to do."

"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that and maybe one day it'll come true."

Ignoring his friend, Kazuya decided to take a peek at the card. His eyes widened when he found out who the roses were from.

_'I can't believe she did it!'_

"Don't be an idiot, Kazuya! Just drop the roses and let's go. Kurosaki will skin us alive if she catches us messing around with her stuff."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"What now?" he asked in exasperation.

"This plush is from _him_, Ryohei. She won."

"So she got the cold-hearted bastard to follow her like some sick puppy. Does it really matter?"

Ryohei knew his friend was annoying, but this was ridiculous. Kazuya was way in over his head. Karin would never go for a guy like him, especially since she caught him stalking her. Why couldn't he just leave the poor woman alone?

"Just put it back before we get caught."

"I don't think so!" Kazuya retorted. "I refuse to share her!"

"You are impossible, you know that?" He sighed. "Fine, just hurry!"

Unfortunately for them, it was too late. Karin had arrived seconds before they made haste.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?" she questioned angrily.

"Y-you see…" he stuttered and hid the plush and flowers behind his back. "We were…um…bye!"

As they started to run in the other direction, Midori stepped forward and acted like a barricade.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. "Last time I checked, that present was seen on _Karin's_ desk."

"Tōno…"

"Well?"

"T-this dragon was a gift from me," Kazuya lied. "I was determined to give it to her, but chickened out at the last second. Go figure."

"Is that so? I guess you wouldn't mind if I take look at it, right?"

"Um… Y-you can't!" he stammered. "I-It's too embarrassing."

"Uh-huh…" Midori raised an eyebrow and took a step forward. "Do you remember what happened to the last guy that lied to me?"

Kazuya wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but still asked, "What guy?"

"Precisely," she grinned.

"H-hold on!"

"Yes?"

"Ryohei, get her!" When the man turned around, his friend was nowhere to be seen. "Thanks a lot," he muttered. "You're such a great friend."

Midori took another step forward, this time cracking her knuckles in the process, and said, "Now about that gift…"

"H-here! Dying isn't really worth it!"

Kazuya quickly tossed her the dragon plush before making a run for it.

"Tch, pathetic little bunch. And to think they're about my age." She walked over to Karin and handed her the present. "Here, I think these belong to you."

"Are you sure you have the right person?" she asked, confused.

"As far as I know, you're the only Kurosaki Karin in this building."

"But that doesn't make any sense. How could someone send _me_ flowers?"

She shrugged. "You must have attracted someone."

_'It couldn't be…'_

Her silent question was soon answered when she read the note that was lodged in between the flowers and the dragon.

**When the rose is gone and the garden faded,  
You will no longer hear the nightingale's song.  
The Beloved is all; the lover just a veil.  
The Beloved is living; the lover a dead thing.  
If love withholds its strengthening care,  
The lover is left like a bird without care,  
The lover is left like a bird without wings.  
How will I be awake and aware  
If the light of the Beloved is absent?  
Love wills that this Word be brought forth.**

**Hitsugaya T.**

Karin couldn't help but gape after reading such a beautiful poem written in the most elegant calligraphy she had ever seen. She could tell by the way he chose his words that Tōshirō was truly sorry for what he did and that he still wanted to be with her. But did it mean that he was willing to forget the cruel things she said to him last night? And could she trust him in the same way he trusted her? Karin was completely and utterly confused. She did want to be with him but at the same time refused to because of the stupid favour her boss practically forced on her.

"Hey…um…Tōno-san, was it?"

She nodded.

"Do you think I could talk to you? I really need advice on something and you're the only person that can help me. Please," she pleaded.

"I don't know how I can help you, but I'll see what I can do," she answered and smiled. "Let's head to my favourite café-restaurant. My treat."

She smiled. "That sounds good."

-0-

"Welcome to _Les Deux Magots_. My name is Hatsu— Karin? Midori? What are you two doing here?"

Fiammetta wasn't really surprised about seeing them at her restaurant. It was seeing them _together_ that freaked her out. She would have never guessed that these two knew each other.

"I came for the French pastries," replied Midori.

"And I for the coffee," finished Karin. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I know that! I mean how do you two know each other?"

"We work on the same floor," the elder woman answered.

"Wow, really? That's cool! I'm sure the two of you have business to discuss, so I'll go as quickly as I can. What can I get you?"

"Coffee please," answered her best friend.

"And I'll have a French vanilla."

"Coming right up!" Fiammetta smiled. "Take your time with the pastry menu."

"We plan on it," Midori replied happily and turned to Karin. "So you're best friends with the owner? That's pretty cool."

"I guess… But it's not something you want to brag about. I'm pretty sure I'd be swarmed with people trying to use me so they can get free pastries or something."

"Then I guess you're lucky I'm not one of them."

"Thanks again, Tōno-san."

"Anytime!"

After a bit, Fiammetta came back with their drinks, took their orders, and left again.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" she asked. "Is it about Hitsugaya Tōshirō? Are you having second thoughts about the favour?"

"H-how did you know?" Karin wondered. "Am I that obvious?"

"No, but the note with his name told me otherwise. Is he not what you expected him to be?"

"No, he's actually an amazing guy."

Karin paused for a moment as her best friend came by with their order. Even if she knew Fiammetta wouldn't be offended by her going to someone else for an objective opinion, she still felt a little ashamed because Karin had always gone to her best friend whenever something was bothering her.

"Enjoy the pastries!" Fiammetta said, smilling.

Once she left, Karin took a sip of her coffee before she spoke again.

"Despite what everyone says, he's a nice guy. He's gentle and kind. There's just something about him that makes him different from all the other jerks I've dated in the past." Subconsciously, she smiled as she looked into her cup of coffee. "It's weird to say that I'm starting to have feelings for him after only being with him for a few days, but it's true. And I know that I shouldn't fall in love with him because I'm supposed to break his heart in less than two weeks now, but I can't help it."

"If you like him so much, then why are you so distraught? The answer seems obvious."

"Why? Because he kissed some slut after he kissed me," she replied, upset from the memory. "I've told myself that I would never date another man who'd cheat on me, and yet I feel torn apart because of it. He told me it didn't mean anything, that he was hurt and turned to her without even thinking. But does that mean he'll always do that? I mean I want to forgive him, I really do, but I don't know what I'm going to do once I end up with the choice of choosing him or my job. If I choose my job, I'll definitely hurt him, but if I choose him, who says I won't hurt myself. I just… I don't know anymore!"

After a long silent pause, Midori asked, "How long have you two started dating?"

"How long?" she repeated nervously. "We haven't even started yet."

"You haven't? Karin," she said in a voice that sounded like she had found the most obvious answer, "the reason why you're so hesitant is because you haven't trusted him with your heart."

"My heart? Of course I have! That's why I feel so broken-hearted."

"No, you haven't," she insisted. "If you had, your heart wouldn't be in so much turmoil than it already is."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that if you had trusted him with your heart, you wouldn't have hesitated to get it fixed. Yes he's broken it into pieces, but he's willing to help you fix it. And if you liked him more than those other jerks, than it just proves that he's more than just some other guy. You've said so yourself that the only thing holding you back was that stupid favour. Well I say screw that favour to hell and think about what _you _want."

"I…" Karin was at a loss for words. Everything she said made sense.

"Now tell me something, what does your heart want?"

"Again with my heart? This is ridiculous."

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't you even think of avoiding the question! You asked for my help, so I'm going to give it to you. Now answer it!"

Karin laughed as the woman beside her used her authority to get what she wanted. "Okay."

She closed her eyes and concentrated solely on her heart. She listened to its constant beating and allowed it to take control of her mind.

Pictures of when she was alone were first shown. She could clearly see how miserable she felt after her last boyfriend broke-up with her. Then pictures of him came to mind. Her heart skipped a beat every time she was with him and she couldn't explain why. Was this how it felt to finally find love? Her silent question was soon answered when memories of him kissing that slut and of her leaving him flashed through her mind. She was so deeply wounded when she saw him indulge in that kiss that she left in hopes of protecting the both of them. But this did not work and in turn made the both of them broken-hearted.

When Karin opened her eyes, she started at Midori and smiled. "I think… I think I just found my answer. Thank you, Tōno-san."

"Don't mention it. Oh and please, call me Midori. You make me sound old when you say my name like that."

She laughed. "Alright, Midori."

-0-

After taking a shower, Karin went straight to her room. She sat on her bed, watching the roses on her night table, then at the blue dragon plush beside her, and finally the phone in her hands. She was going to call him.

She nervously dialled his number and waited for him to answer. She let out a sigh of relief when she got his answering machine. Karin wasn't quite ready to speak with him yet.

"Hey Tōshirō, it's me. I received the roses and poem you wrote me this morning at my desk. It was…really something." There was a moment of silence before she continued. "Look, I'm not saying that I completely forgive you for what you did last night, but…" A pause. "…I appreciate you trying." Again, another pause. "It wasn't fair of me to go about our relationship, if we had any, without considering a solution." A third pause. "Now don't expect me to fawn all over you just because of the roses you sent me. I am willing to give you a second chance, but you'll have to prove to me that you can do it and you're going to have to earn it. How?" She paused for the fourth time and smirked at all of the possible trials she could put him through. "You'll have to figure that one out by yourself. Well, g'night…"

As Karin proceeded to hang up the phone, she couldn't help but smile. She hoped in her heart that the man could prove himself to her because she was willing to give him another chance. And that was something Kurosaki Karin _never_ did in her life.

Meanwhile, Fiammetta grinned as she heard her friend's message. She knew Karin was going through some issues with Tōshirō but didn't dare confront her because she knew from experience that the raven-haired woman would go to her when she was ready. Luckily everything seemed to have been resolved. Well, almost everything.

"Karin, you're going to thank me for this," she said to herself and walked away, preparing for what was to come tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N:** The poem used in this chapter does not belong to me. It belongs to a Rumi and is entitled _When The Rose is Gone_. I'll also be adding some of my old work along with an excellent translated version of a French poem/slam in the next chapter. Until then! Jaa ne!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **First off, a big thank you to everyone for the favourites and alerts! I'm so happy to see more and more readers!

Secondly, sorry for the late update…again. I seem to be making this a habit. -.-'

Finally, every poem can be found on my fictionpress account (link is on my profile) except for the last one because that does not belong to me. It belongs to Grand Corps Malade (Tall Sick Body) and is entitled "Les Voyages en Train" (Train Rides). I found the literal translation online, but made some modifications. So it's a little different from the original as well. Nevertheless, I do not take credit for the literal translation. It belongs to the person from this website:

http:/renouvellement. wordpress. com/2007/06/15/love-and-train-journeys-grand-corps-malade-3/ (remove spaces)

* * *

**Getting There**

After returning from his rough night at the club, Tōshirō pondered about how he could ask Karin for forgiveness. Chocolates and flowers were definitely out of the question. They've been so overused in the past that he knew he was only wasting his time. Besides, it'd take more than just those simple things if he wanted her to trust him again. And judging by the pain in her voice, he knew he had his work cut out for him.

Passing a hand through his white spiky hair, the editor sighed heavily. "How do I fix something as messed up as this?" he wondered as his eyes scanned his living room, looking for some kind of sign.

Eventually, he came across a blue plush dragon that sat on top of one of his libraries and immediately thought back to when she slept over at his place. He wasn't too certain, but he could have sworn that Karin took small glances at the thing as they conversed.

"But what do I do with it? Should I just…give it to her?"

Although he thought it was a cute gesture, he knew Karin wasn't really much of a plushie person in spite of what he saw the other night. So the dragon wasn't enough. He'd have to add something else to it, but what?

"Urgh! I'm just going in circles here!" he complained and sighed for the second time that night. "Maybe Momo has an idea."

With one swift movement, the editor took out his phone and dialled his step-sister's number. If there was anybody that could help him, it would be his step-sister, Momo.

"Hello?" answered a woman.

"Hey Momo. It's me, Tōshirō."

"Shiro-chan? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's just…you're calling me in the middle of the night."

"And a brother can't say hi to his big sister?" he asked, sounding innocent.

"That's the thing. You don't call at a quarter past one just to say hi. You always call during the day unless you have something urgent to say. So I guess the real question here is: who is she and what did you do?"

"How did you…" Knowing that he'd never win against his step-sister, the man sighed. "I got into this big fight with Karin and—"

"Karin? Who's Karin?"

"Someone I met during that party that was hosted for dad's company."

"You did? Oh my gosh! I'm so proud of you, little brother."

Exasperated by her constant interruptions, the editor asked, "Will you let me finish?"

"Oh yeah, right. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"We got into this big fight and ended up separating before we had the chance to date. I don't blame her for leaving –she had every right to do so– but at the same time I wish she didn't. I want her to trust me again, but I don't know what to do. Think you can help me?"

"This has got to be some kind of miracle!" she yelled disbelievingly. "You just admitted that _you_ don't know how to fix something and you asked _me_ for help. A herd of pigs must be flying somewhere in the sky!"

"This isn't funny, Momo! Can you please drop the theatrics and just help me out? Please." He didn't care if he sounded desperate. The editor really wanted to make things right.

"Wow, Shiro, you're serious about this Karin person, aren't you? I've never seen you try this hard for a girl. Not since Kinoshita messed you up."

"She means a great deal to me. Of course I'd be serious."

For once in his life, he was full-heartedly honest with his feelings and Tōshirō felt good about it.

"Then we've got a lot of work to do. But I want to know one thing: why is her forgiveness so important to you?"

"How is this relevant?"

"Just answer it, Shiro."

"Fine, fine." He took a minute to think about it before giving away his answer. "To be honest, I don't even know myself. She can be so tough sometimes that it's hard to wonder if she really has any feelings at all. But then you start to realize that like everyone else, she's vulnerable. It killed me when I saw her cry earlier today. I just… It's different when I'm around her, you know? Like I don't need to keep this constant guard around her. I guess…" There was a slight pause before he decided to continue. "I guess it's not that I want her to trust me as much as it is that I _need_ her to."

"Well if you ask me, it seems like you already have your answer."

"I beg your pardon?"

What did she mean by that? All he did was tell her how he felt.

"Tōshirō," she began and sighed. "Once again you're over-thinking things. Something like this can't be solved by mere gifts. You have to tell her how you feel."

"But we barely know each other! It's not like I'm in love with her."

"Love is a funny thing," she replied softly. "It has neither limit nor warning. It just hits you when you least expect it. You said it yourself, Tōshirō. Your guard goes down whenever you're with her and you break whenever she breaks. Face it, bro, you've fallen for her."

He was such an idiot. Of course he had fallen for her! Though her rough-n-tough attitude may have drawn him to her, his willingness to open up to her was simply because he _wanted_ to, not because she was some stranger he could confine to.

"Thanks, Momo. You've been a big help."

"Anytime, Shiro-chan! See you later!"

Although it would take some time before he got the right words out, Hitsugaya Tōshirō knew what he was going to do. And all that was left was to hope for the best.

-0-

She didn't know why she woke up late that morning, but she knew she had to hurry. If not, her friend, Shiba Miyako, was going to kill her. Not in the literal sense of course, but it still felt pretty close whenever she got scolded and glared at by the woman. Miyako might look innocent, but given the circumstances, she could be very lethal; much like Karin but slightly worst. Why Fiammetta attracted people like that, she had no idea.

With just minutes to spare, the restaurant owner sighed in relief and prepared to leave, when suddenly, she heard a faint song playing. She wasn't sure at first and wanted to leave it alone, but as the tune became more familiar, she decided to investigate.

When she neared Karin's room, the music got louder.

_I'm a prisoner of love  
__Prisoner of love  
__Just a prisoner of love  
__I'm just a prisoner of love  
__A prisoner of love_

There in the middle of her roommate's bed was her blackberry, vibrating like crazy as the song _Prisoner of Love_ by Utada Hikaru continuously played.

"Hello?"

"Hey Karin. Sorry for not calling you last night. I didn't get the message until later this morning."

"You didn't get the message until later this morning?" she repeated angrily. "How could you, Hitsugaya-san? You know damn well that Karin's trying hard to fix a relationship that could be, and you're out parading with some slut?"

"H-Hatsumi? How did… Isn't this Karin's phone?"

"Just answer the damn question!"

Fiammetta knew how hard it was for Karin to give any guy a second chance and knew that if she was willing to try –and she wasn't simply talking about doing it for her dreams; Karin was better than that– then this guy must have really made an impression. Still, she had to be sure he wasn't just fooling around with her.

"No, that's not it. Rangiku got pretty drunk last night and she tripped over the phone line. I didn't notice until later this morning when I wanted to… Wait, I don't have to explain myself to you!" he yelled. "Because this has nothing to do with you! It's between Karin and I."

She rolled her eyes. "And you've done so well by yourself. Listen up, Hitsugaya-san, and listen good."

"I don't have to do a thing you sa—"

"You do want a second chance with her, don't you?" Fiammetta quickly asked, hoping to silence the editor. "Or would you prefer I tell her you're one of the biggest jerks in Tokyo? Scratch that, Japan."

Unable to retort, Tōshirō remained quiet as he waited for her to continue.

Fiammetta grinned. "That's what I thought," she stated proudly. "Have you ever heard of _Les Deux Magots_?"

"You mean that French café-restaurant near Shibuya station?"

"Yes, that's the one. Meet me there tonight at six o'clock sharp."

"Why do I have to—"

Fiammetta didn't have time for his squabbles right now, so she interrupted him for a second time.

"Make sure to be presentable when you come," she ordered. "I'll be setting up something real nice for the two of you."

"Hold on—"

The lavender-haired beauty couldn't help but interrupt him for a third and final time. It was just too much fun.

"Sorry Hitsugaya-san, but I really don't have time to hear your excuses right now. I'm late for work as it already is. Just make sure to come! Bye!"

Once she hung up the phone, Fiammetta went through Karin's phone call history, deleted his number and left it the same way she found it. The last thing she needed was for her surprise to be ruined.

-0-

It was already a quarter past six and the restaurant owner was pissed. _'He's late. He's __**really**__ late. I swear to God, if he doesn't show up soon, I just might break into his house and dye his hair pink or give him a nice buzz cut or…'_

Just as her devious plans to ruin his good looks got even more heinous, the man in question got out of his car and walked towards her, dressed in a nice white dress shirt and black dress pants.

"About time!" Fiammetta yelled irritably. "It's rude to make a lady wait."

"Being late is better than not showing up at all. You know I was this close to not coming because I had yet to finish that manuscript this author gave me. He still doesn't understand the meaning of weak hook and bad climax."

She rolled her eyes. "Blah, blah, blah. Bore me some other time, will you? Right now you should concentrate more on getting back together with Karin. As much as I hate to admit it, you make her happy and I'd hate for something that good to go away."

"I…" Tōshirō was slightly taken aback by her words. Could she see it as much as his sister could? "Thank you, Hatsumi."

"No problem. Just treat her right, okay?"

"Don't worry, I intend on it."

"Oh and Hitsugaya-san," she called out just as he entered the room.

"Yeah?"

"To get where you need to go, you need to make your way to the back of the room and then head upstairs. Shūhei will be waiting for you."

"What about you?"

"I've got a few things to take care of here. Now get going before I change my mind."

"Thanks again."

After making his way through the empty first floor, the editor found himself standing in an ambiance lit room full of people. At the front of it all was a stage with black closed curtains and a single microphone stand right in the middle.

"Glad you could make it, Hitsugaya-san," said Sūhei as he walked towards the white-haired man.

Tōshirō nodded. "What's going on here? Am I here to see a show of some kind?"

"Wait, Fia didn't say anything to you?"

He shook his head. "Was she supposed to?"

"That woman," sighed Shūhei. "As you can tell, this is the second storey of _Les Deux Magots_. On a regular day-to-day basis, this place is usually off-limits to customers unless they plan on having a celebration of some kind. That's when it can get pretty hectic. But on rare occasions, like her tri-monthly poetry competitions, she opens it for everyone to enjoy. Here, amateur writers bring their original work and recite it in front of the crowd. It can be a song, a rap, or a poem, and the length is a maximum of five minutes. The winner of the competition receives an award known as _le Prix des Deux Magots, _7 500 yen, and has their work published in next month's _Yomiuri Shimbun_, while the second and third place winners get 5 000 yen and 3 000 yen, respectfully, and have their work published in the months that follow."

"Wow. And who judges these competitions?"

"There are three judges in total. The first is her father, Hatsumi Shunsuke. As for the other two, they're usually skilled writers and editors. You know, people who have experience in writing. That way, it seems more legit."

"Wait a minute. Did you just say Hatsumi Shunsuke?" Tōshirō asked incredulously. "That man's a legend, what with all of those great novels he's written in the past. Plus his books have been translated into so many languages. I'm amazed he has time for this."

"Being famous has its perks but it's mentally exhausting. So as soon as his daughter announces the date for her tri-monthly poetry contests, he makes sure to make room for it. It's his break from all of that stress, you know?"

"I can only imagine," was his only reply.

What else could the editor say to that? It wasn't like the man could understand how stressful _his_ life was, not to mention the constant people pretending to be his friends, and… No, he wasn't going down that road again. His sole purpose for coming was to make things right with Karin; speaking of which…

"Why am I here again?" Tōshirō asked.

"If I know Fia, she wants you to see Karin after the show."

"Karin's here?"

"Yeah, she's the crowd favourite and the closing act for all of Fia's competitions. Most of the people only come here for her."

"Really?" That was news to him. How come she never told him about that? "Is she really that good?"

"She's awesome, but she refuses to go to a publisher to get her stuff published."

"So why does she come here then?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I guess writing for her is just a way to vent her feelings. If she started doing this as a job, it probably wouldn't feel the same, you know?"

"I guess you're right."

The lights suddenly dimmed and two spotlights appeared at the center of the stage.

"Looks like the show's about to start. Let's hurry and take our seats."

The room went dead silent as Fiammetta, dressed in a midnight blue mid-length evening dress, made her appearance on stage.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to _Les Deux Magots_'s tri-monthly poetry competition! Before we get started, let's get you acquainted with the judges. Like always, we have my father, Hatsumi Shunsuke. To his left, his editor, Ukitake Jūshirō. And to his right, another great writer, Kyōraku Shunsui. My name is Hatsumi Fiammetta and I will be your host for this evening." She bowed, waiting for the applauses to subside, and continued to speak. "Let's bring out our first competitor. She's sweeter than candy and cuter than a newborn puppy. Give it up for Kusajishi Yachiru with a piece she calls '_An Ode to Chocolate'_."

As Fiammetta left the stage, a nineteen year old girl with bubblegum coloured shoulder length hair stepped out. She smiled adoringly as she adjusted the black beret on her head and cleared her throat.

**You come in a variety of shapes  
****That everyone longs to see  
****You become their fantasy  
****As artists mould you into their landscapes**

**You're just as rich in both taste and colour,  
****From black to white and then milk  
****Your texture is smooth like silk,  
****Yet you are the key to someone's shelter**

**Upon contact, you give life to my tongue,  
****Sending chill through my taste buds  
****Better than getting rosebuds,  
****You're my shield from the evil that has sprung**

**Alas, you cannot remain in this world;  
****For in high temperature  
****A disaster can occur:  
****You melt away, unable to be furled**

**Carelessly, I have left you there, melting,  
****Letting your decadent taste  
****Fall, slowly being erased  
****From my heart. Hungry, I wait here, yearning.**

When her poem was finished, the teenager bowed and everyone cheered.

"Wasn't that scrumptious? Man, I wish I had some chocolate right now," Fiammetta joked, and someone suddenly threw her a bar of chocolate. She bent down and picked it up. "Wow, thanks so much! How'd you know it was my favourite?"

In the background a group of guys yelled, "We love you, Fiammetta! Please marry us!"

She laughed nervously, hoping her boyfriend wouldn't murder the group, and continued with the show. "Anyway, while I enjoy this little treat, let's hear from our next contestant. She's tough, she's caring and she's a great friend of mine. Give it up for Miyazaki Senna with a piece she calls '_Fed Up'_."

Donning a lavender strapless dress, a woman with purple hair emerged from behind the curtains and smiled.

**Every time I needed you, you always pulled through  
****You were constantly there to guide me, you were always so true  
****But as time slipped away, like the sand seeping through my fist  
****We started to separate, like the continents that drift**

**We were so tight; you said we'd be together  
****But now I know that nothing lasts forever  
****I had trusted you, gave you all my faith  
****But I guess believing in you was all just a mistake**

**Now that I know you are nothing but lies  
****There will be no more chances, no more compromise  
****Because this is a girl that certainly doesn't cry  
****You'll be the one that'll always seem to sigh**

**If you wanted to get rid of me that quickly,  
****All you had to do was ask, not act wickedly  
****Well I guess your wish has come true  
****But remember, you will be the one that'll rue**

The moment she finished her piece, all of the women cheered, yelling things like, "You go girl!" and "Show that bastard what you're made of!"

"See ladies?" the restaurant owner began. "If the guy doesn't treat you right, don't cry over him. Just show him what he's missing."

Somehow, Tōshirō couldn't help but think she was directing it to him.

"Next up, Tsumugiya Ururu. She'll be reciting her poem _Never-ending Pain_."

**You keep suffocating me with your lies,  
****Breaking my heart into countless pieces  
****And stabbing me until my poor soul cries.  
****Haven't you heard enough of my screeches?**

**Why couldn't you tell me we were over?  
****You could have saved me from all of this pain.  
****But instead, you chose to make me suffer  
****And watched from afar as I drowned in rain.**

**I've tried and tried to forget about you,  
****By making our memories disappear.  
****In the end, it worked and so I pulled through  
****Until you brought it back by saying, "My dear."**

**Without much hope, I remain in darkness.  
****Doomed to wander the plains that seem endless.**

"Wow, that was some poem. I hope whatever you went through goes away soon because no one deserves to be treated that way."

Everyone in the room nodded sadly as they watched the young woman walking off.

The more Tōshirō heard, the more he was amazed. Although he thought a few of them lacked talent, most of them were quite impressive for amateurs. In fact, some of the stuff he'd read in the past did not compare with the other stuff he heard today. He was beginning to wonder why his father never accepted amateur writers until they had a few books published.

After about an hour of listening to the various poems came the closing. Finally, he was going to see what Karin wrote up.

"As much as we'd love for this to continue, we're out of time."

"Aww…" echoed throughout the entire room.

"But we do have our number one act. You've seen her working here in the past and you've listened to her poems ever since I started these competitions. I bring you the one and only, Kurosaki Karin!"

A waterfall of cries filled the room as Fiammetta gave the stage to her best friend. She nervously made her way to the middle and sat down on the stool provided for her, playing around with the microphone stand in front of her. When the cheers died down, Karin cleared her throat.

"When I wrote this poem, I questioned the subject of love. Why people fall in love? Why they cheat? Why they move on? Why they get back together after breaking-up? It's a list of endless questions without any straight answers. So please, after hearing what I have to say, I'd like you all to reflect on what it means to love someone and to be in love with someone. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my poem _Train Journeys_."

**You could say that love stories were like journeys by train,****  
****And sometimes when I see those travellers I'd like to be one again,****  
****Why do you think so many people wait at the platform gate?****  
****Why do you think we stress so much when we arrive a little late?**

**The train often pulls away when you least anticipate,****  
****And the love story carries you off from those who commentate,****  
****The commentators are your mates who say goodbye at the station****  
****They watch the train pull away with a look of trepidation****  
****You wave back at them and imagine their comments going 'round****  
****Some say you've made a mistake, that your feet aren't on the ground,****  
****Each one makes a prediction for how long the trip will last,****  
****Most of them think the train will derail at the first stormy blast.**

**Real love seems to change the expression on your face****  
****So from day one you should take care when choosing your place,****  
****A seat by the aisle or next to the window glass,****  
****What do you choose: a love story in first or second class?**

**In the first few miles, you can't take your eyes from their face,****  
****You barely notice out your window the passing green open space,  
You feel giddy, so alive; you're as light as a feather  
You feel so good that you almost want to kiss the ticket collector.**

**But the magic only lasts a time, your story's running out of steam,****  
****You tell yourself you're in it for nothing, 'it's all their fault', you want to scream****  
****The train's rumble makes you drunk, you feel sick at each bend,****  
****You've got to get up, walk out, and find a way for your heart to mend.**

**Now the train slows down, it's already the end of your tale,****  
****And what's more you're like a fool; your mates are at the other end of the rail****  
****You say goodbye to the one you'll now call your ex,****  
****Erasing their name from your mind as if using tippex. **

**So you see that love stories are like journeys by train,****  
****And sometimes when I see those travellers I'd like to be one again,****  
****Why do you think so many people wait at the platform gate?****  
****Why do you think we stress so much when we arrive a little late?**

**For some Life is all about trying to catch a train,****  
****To feel love and find their energy bubbling up like champagne,****  
****For others the aim is to arrive with time to spare,****  
****To have a safe trip and live life without care.  
For some the trains are always on strike or so it seems,****  
****And their love stories only exist in their dreams,****  
****Others jump on the first train without paying attention,****  
****But, of course, they get off disappointed at the next station,****  
****Still, others stress about commitment as they're over-emotive,****  
****For them it's too risky to hold on to the locomotive,****  
****And there are the adventurers who take trip after trip,****  
****Once one story is finished onto the next page they flip.**

**It seems that train journeys end badly, more often than not,****  
****If that's the case for you hang on, don't tie your heart in a knot,****  
****Because one thing is certain there'll always be a terminus,****  
****Now you've been warned; next time you can take the bus.**

Everyone went wild after Karin finished because once again, she had swept the stage. Her views on love made a lot of people think twice about their relationships. As for Tōshirō, he began to understand a little about what she went through in the past. Why she was crying that night? Why she said she had had enough? It made perfect sense.

"This brings the end of our show. Thank you for coming and have great night!"

After speaking with the contestants, the whole room cleared, leaving only a handful of people to clean up the restaurant.

"Great performance you did back there," complimented Tōshirō the moment he saw her walking away from the stage. "I didn't know you were such a great writer."

Karin's eyes widened as she recognized his voice. "T-Tōshirō…" she stuttered. "Why are you… What are you doing here? I didn't think you knew this place existed, let alone this competition."

"A little bird told me about this place," he smiled.

Before either of them could continue, said bird interrupted them. "Your table is ready, Hitsugaya-san, Karin. Please follow me."

Confused, Karin simply followed her best friend as she led them to a gorgeous scenery outside on the terrace of the second floor with a romantic candlelit dinner.

"Fia, you didn't have to go to all that trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," she smiled. "Besides, if I didn't help you out, nobody would. It's the least I can do. Now if there's anything you need, just give me a call. Shūhei and I are just downstairs."

"Thanks, Fia. You're the best!" Karin ran to her friend and hugged her, whispering, "I guess it was okay for you to meddle this time. But don't let me catch you doing it again."

"Oh Karin, it's like you don't even know me anymore. I will _always_ be there to mettle," she laughed. "Now play nice. I'll be back in a bit to check on you two."

And with that, Fiammetta left the couple alone.

"Shall we?" Tōshirō asked, walking towards one of the chairs and pulling it out slightly like a gentleman.

Unable to say anything at the moment, Karin simply nodded and walked to her chair.

"I'm sorry about what happened the other night," she said after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "I was just frustrated, confused, not to mention hurt—"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted and placed his hands over hers. Karin briefly stared at his hands as his thumbs gently stroke the back of her hands before tracing it to his gorgeous teal eyes. "It was all my fault to begin with. I'm just… I'm glad you decided to give me another chance."

She smiled, unable to look away, and said, "Yeah, me too."

Finally, the awkwardness was dissolved and the two went back to how they first met: talking carelessly as they ignored the world around them.

"It's the anniversary of my mother's death this weekend," she said after the food arrived, "and I was wondering if you could come with me. We'd only be gone for a week."

"I don't know…" he replied hesitantly. "I want to go with you, but a whole week? When is it exactly?"

"I booked a flight for Thursday afternoon."

"I still have to go through a few manuscripts before sending them back to the authors, and then they've got to send them back to me so I can check out the new changes. If I leave now, I would definitely be behind schedule since everything has to be done by next Friday."

"Please," she begged. "It'd be great to spend some more time with you."

"Let me think about it, okay?"

"Fine," she replied, completely disappointed that he couldn't even take a few days off.

_'Am I disappointed because he's not coming with me or because I might lose my dream job? Should I even still care about that stupid deal I made? Urgh… Maybe, maybe I should do what Midori told me to do and forget about that whole ordeal. But then how will I get closer to my mom if I don't become an editor like her? I just… I don't know what I should do…'_

"…orrow. Karin? Karin?"

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said that I'd let you know by tomorrow. C'mon, you look tired. I'll drive you home, okay?"

Before they left, Karin had offered to help out her best friend, but Fiammetta refused. Karin was getting a ride home from her possibly new boyfriend and she did not want her to spoil it on account of her friend being nice to her. And so without another word, they went home.

"Thanks for tonight," Karin thanked and smiled. "I think I can see something happening between us."

"I hope so," he replied and began leaning in.

Seeing him lean in, Karin couldn't help but mirror his actions. But as soon as her lips ghosted over his, she moved to his cheek.

"Remember, I might have given you a second chance, but you still need to prove yourself. If you really want that kiss, you'll have to come to Karakura with me."

"But I can't—"

"I know you can't, but I'm not saying for the whole week. At least…at least until this weekend." Halfway into her condo, the woman turned back and said, "Just think about it, okay? Goodnight."

He stood there, staring at her door, and sighed. 'What did I get myself into?'

But in spite of himself, he still found himself smiling. Maybe sacrificing a little wouldn't be too bad.

-0-

Fiammetta was aimlessly cleaning the dishes, when suddenly, she cut her finger with the knife she was washing.

"Ouch!" she yelled, dropping the knife into the sink and stared at her cut finger.

"You okay?" Shūhei asked, rushing to her side. "You should be more careful when handling knifes like that. It could have been worst." Without warning, he grabbed her finger and placed it in his mouth, causing her to blush from his bold action. "You've never been this careless before. What's on your mind?"

"You think he'll be good to her? I know for a fact that the man really cares for her, but I can't help but feel like something might go wrong the moment everything goes right for them."

"Don't be silly. You're just worried about being alone while she's gone. But don't worry," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll always be here for you."

As he started to kiss along the nape of her neck, Fiammetta closed her eyes and rejoiced at the sensation. He always knew what to do and say. It was something she always loved about him. Speaking of love…

"Hey Shūhei…"

"Yeah?" he said, placing bite marks on her skin.

"Could you… I mean… Would you consider moving in with me? You…you don't have to if you don't want to. It's just…we've been together for so long and I just thought that maybe…" Fiammetta trailed off when she realized her boyfriend stopped kissing her. "S-Shūhei?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** O.O So many reviews, alerts, and favourites… Thank you sooooo much, everyone! :D

I'm so sorry for being about three months late! My life has just about gone from busy to chaotic, so I  
barely had the time to touch this story. And yes, I know what you're saying. I went and updated "Forever Yours" and "Change of Heart" earlier last month. Well, it's not my fault if I tend to stray off from this story to the next. Word of advice, don't bite off more than you can chew. -.-'

Special thanks to **Misteree Gurl **for helping me out with the corrections and ideas and such once again. You're the best! ^.^

Okay, okay. I'm sure you're all dying to read it now. So here it is: Chapter 8!

* * *

**Overprotective Brother**

The room went dead silent the moment Fiammetta dropped the question. Why on earth did she have to ask that? She could have simply revelled in the sensation of his touch and then called it a great night. Instead she pushed it and asked him to move in with her. It was a deadly risk, but worth it…or so she had thought. If Fiammetta had known this was going to happen, she wouldn't have taken the initiative to ask him.

_'You're an idiot, you know that?'_ she reprimanded silently and decided to leave. It was pointless to stay.

"Fia, wait!" he called out as he finally came to his senses. "Let me explain!"

"I don't want to hear it!" she retorted, her voice wavering from the sorrow of rejection.

"Fia, please," he begged as he chased after her.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to give him another chance, but at risk of further heartbreak would it really be worth it? Torn between indecision, the woman finally went with her heart and stopped dead in her tracks as her hand remained clasped around the doorknob of the restaurant's entrance. Although she knew she would most likely get hurt, Fiammetta thought that maybe he would redeem himself in the little minutes they had left with each other.

"What?"

In a few long strides, Shūhei was by her side, placing his hand on top of hers.

"Fia," he began endearingly. "Look at me."

She shook her head, refusing to do so for she feared she would cry. It was already hard for her to let him speak his mind and for her to not run away. If she looked at him now, knowing that he was going to reject her, she knew the tears would never stop.

He sighed, knowing her stubborn character had come out, and used his other hand to gently cup her chin. He placed a chaste kiss upon her cheek and swallowed hard. "When you asked me to move in with you, I guess you could say I was…flabbergasted…"

When she heard him utter that final word, she couldn't help but let a few tears fall as she tightened her grip around the doorknob. The tone he used and the way he kissed her on the cheek; she knew where this conversation was leading to. And yet, somewhere deep in her heart she prayed to God she was wrong.

"…because in truth…" He paused momentarily to wipe away her tears and said, "…I thought I would be the one to ask you."

Now this had caught her off guard. Did this mean he was going to…

Finally finding the courage, Fiammetta faced her boyfriend with utmost curiosity and gasped as she watched him take her hand off the doorknob and drop to one knee. Taking out a black velvet box from the inside of his jacket, he opened it to show a beautiful white gold ring set with a princess cut blue topaz –her birthstone– and three smaller sized diamonds on either side of the stone. He removed the engagement ring from its box and placed it on her wedding finger.

"Fia, you mean the world to me and I could never dream of a life without you by my side. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

She just couldn't believe her eyes. After all that, _he_ was the one that ended up asking _her_ for her hand in marriage. Words just couldn't describe how ecstatic she felt.

"What do you think?" she replied before pulling him into a sweet embrace.

He smiled knowingly but just had to hear her say that three letter word. So like the joker he was, he asked, "Is that a yes?"

She merely rolled her eyes and answered, "Yes, you idiot; it's a yes," before claiming his lips to seal the deal.

-0-

Karin looked at her phone one last time before making her way outside. Why didn't he call? She would have thought that the white-haired man would have at least called to tell her he wasn't going. But no. He didn't even leave a message for crying out loud! And that in itself was irritating.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head off," Fiammetta said, trying to cheer her up. She hated seeing her best friend depressed. "Knowing him, he'll just show up at the airport unannounced. You know how he is. He's the type that likes to wait until the very last minute, claiming that he had too much work to do."

"It's fine, really," Karin lied. "I wasn't really expecting him to come anyway. You said so yourself, he's a workaholic."

"Now, now. There's no need to be negative." Fiammetta paused for a brief second before coming up with the perfect punishment. "But just in case he doesn't show up, you wouldn't mind if I taught him a lesson or two, would you? Maybe…dye his hair pink?"

She smiled but shook her head. "Don't even think about it."

Even if Karin thought the idea would be hilarious, she didn't think it would be the best idea. For one, he would be more than pissed at both her and Fiammetta. And two, the crowd would be unintentionally drawn to them. As much as she didn't like seeing his nasty side, she hated being the center of attention more. Besides, his hair was already pure white. It already screamed, "Look at me, I'm special!"

"What? It's not like it's permanent… At least, I don't think it is." She comically drawled the second half of her sentence, acting all too innocent.

"Since when have you become Little Miss Evil? I mean I know you like to pull pranks now and then but to this extreme? Doesn't that sound more like –oh, I don't know– me?"

"I guess you're just rubbing off on me."

Karin raised an eyebrow. "Should I feel insulted or proud?"

"Proud, Karin. Proud."

"Uh-huh, says the girl who just wanted to dye a man's hair pink with permanent dye. Hey Shūhei, think you can handle her? If she's too much, I can always—"

"Don't you dare answer that, Shūhei!" she almost hissed at her fiancé and then turned to face her best friend. "And you, Karin, don't even think about giving him ideas."

From behind the car, the raven-haired woman could only laugh at her reaction. She was so glad to have a friend like her.

When they arrived at the Hanaeda Airport, Shūhei drove by the passenger drop-off site and parked. He opened the trunk to get her small suitcase and handed it to her.

"Sorry we can't see you off, Karin," he said and gave her a hug.

"Don't worry about it," she replied and proceeded to hug her best friend. "Unlike me, you guys have work."

"Tease all you want, Kurosaki Karin," Fiammetta grinned. "Just don't get mad at me if something mysteriously disappears from your room while you're gone."

She rolled her eyes. "Already with the threats, huh? It seems like _someone_ wants me to move out badly."

"Oh c'mon, you know I'm just joking."

"I'm not sure about that," Karin said with a serious face. "Now that the two of you are engaged, I wouldn't be surprised to find my room transformed into a nursery."

Both Shūhei and Fiammetta stared wide-eyed at Karin before blushing all kinds of shades of red. Was she being serious or was she just teasing? With Karin, it was hard to tell.

She, on the other hand, could no longer hold in her laughter. Their expressions were priceless. "Relax, guys! I'm just joking." Karin grabbed her suitcase and grinned. "I know you'll use the guest room beside your room, Fia."

And just like that, she sprinted into the airport.

"Mou, Karin!" Fiammetta yelled, turning a darker shade of red. She couldn't believe her best friend. How could she have said it with a straight face?

Fiammetta shook her head. It wasn't her fault if her parents raised her in a somewhat closed environment. Granted, she was exposed to it when she started going to a university in America, but it still made her nervous to make-out in public. It wasn't until she met Shūhei that that idea turned around. But even so, it still made her nervous to talk about sex, let alone actually doing the act. What could she say? Her parents were a little too overprotective.

_'She's going to pay for using that against me.' _If Karin thought Fiammetta was evil before, wait until she came back. Oh yes, Fiammetta was going to torture the poor woman until she begged for mercy.

Regaining his posture, Shūhei coughed before looking at his watch. "It's getting late. We better go before Shiba-san has your hide."

His girlfriend thought about her violent friend back at the restaurant and sighed. "R-right."

The car ride was silent as they headed to _Les Deux Magots_, and Fiammetta couldn't help but take nervous glances at her boyfriend. Although Karin had been teasing them, it now brought an interesting subject to their newfound relationship, and she couldn't help but wonder if Shūhei wanted a baby as much as she wanted one.

Despite feeling slightly uncomfortable talking about sex, she, like every other woman in the world, had always dreamed of having a family. She'd want three boys and one girl. The boys would take care of their baby sister so she wouldn't have to worry too much about her, making sure she wasn't bullied, scaring off her bad-ass boyfriends and making sure school wasn't too hard for her. And then during their spare time, they would help her out at her restaurant and…

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think of that. There was still plenty of time to daydream about her future.

"What's the matter?" her boyfriend asked, noticing her odd behaviour. "Did what Karin say bother you?"

"N-no," she lied. "Of course not. Why should it?"

He sighed, taking one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed her closest hand, rubbing it gently with his thumb. "You know, hon, after we get married, I wouldn't mind trying for a child at our honeymoon."

She blushed and looked away but smiled nonetheless. "W-who said anything about c-consummating?"

He laughed. "Isn't that the whole point of a honeymoon?"

"Well yeah, but…but it doesn't really mean… I mean we don't have to try for… It's…it's not like…"

Seeing the flustered expression on his fiancée's face, Shūhei couldn't help but chuckle. "You don't have to be nervous," he reassured her. "We'll talk about this matter when the time arises. For now, just focus on the present, okay?"

Calming down, Fiammetta smiled again. "You're right. Thanks, babe."

-0-

Karin sat in the waiting area, waiting for her family to arrive, when suddenly, hands covered her eyes. She smiled, thinking it was Tōshirō until the man spoke.

"I told you I'd be back, Kaoru. Ten years and you haven't changed one bit." He kissed the back of her head, startling her a little. "I love you," he whispered tenderly. "I love you and don't you ever forget that."

In spite of not knowing who this stranger was or to whom he was referring to for that matter, Karin couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. His lover, Kaoru, was a very lucky woman because despite being ten years apart, he seemed very much in love with her. And that made her wonder. Would Tōshirō still like her even if she told him about how their relationship started? Or would he hate her and avoid her like the plague?

She shook her head at the thought. _'__You have your career on the line,'_ she reminded herself. _'__There's no time to think about love.'_ And yet despite that fact, somewhere deep inside her heart she knew it was a lie. Karin really liked Tōshirō. Maybe even _loved_ him. She was just having a hard time believing it because she was far too focused on her career.

Karin cleared her throat and turned around. "Sorry to disappoint you, Sir, but my name's Karin not Kaoru."

The man blinked disbelievingly as he gave the woman another look. Although their features were practically identical from the back, her voice and face betrayed the pure image of his lover. Even if she was beautiful, Karin's beauty, in his opinion, did not compare to that of his Kaoru's.

"I deeply apologize, Miss. From the back, you really look like her."

Karin let out a little laugh. "It's alright. I hope you find your lover soon. She's a lucky woman."

"And I, a lucky man," he replied, smiling kindly, and left.

The moment he was gone, she heaved a heavy sigh and plopped back into her chair. "And I really thought it was him."

"Missed me that much, Karin?" said a familiar voice.

Surprised, the woman in question looked to her left and to her right but spotted no one.

"Great. Now I'm hallucinating like that Bella chick from that novel _Twilight_." Exasperated, she closed her eyes and sighed again, leaning deeper into her seat as she laid the back of her head against the top rail of her chair.

The same voice chuckled. "Do you really think I'm as fictional as a character in a book?"

Instead of answering the voice's question, she ignored it and said, "Just because I miss you, doesn't mean I'm as desperate as her. I'll just wait until I come back. So do me the favour and leave before somebody thinks I've gone crazy."

"And what if I don't?" the voice challenged.

"It doesn't matter. Just lea—"

Before she could finish her retort, warm lips were gently pressed against her forehead.

"Still think I'm just your imagination?" the voice asked.

Startled, Karin stood up from her chair and turned around. There in front of her was none other than the star editor himself. "T-Tōshirō?" she asked, blushing from embarrassment. "W-what are you doing here? I thought you had paperwork."

"I do," he admitted, placing his suitcase beside hers. "But we just made up and I know I'll regret it if I let you go."

She took a step forward and grinned. "Aw. Worried that I'd meet someone new?" she teased. "Or were you just going to miss me?"

Instead of answering her directly, Tōshirō took a step closer and wrapped his arms protectively around her waist, earning him a small, surprised yelp from the woman in his arms, and whispered, "A little bit of both, actually."

Karin fought down the blush that threatened to surface and berated herself for letting her guard down. She hated the effect he had on her. She was supposed to be a tough girl, not some blushing idiot; although she had to admit that she didn't mind it if it was because of him.

She frowned at the thought. She shouldn't be having those kinds of thoughts at all. And yet she couldn't help herself. Maybe she should really forget about the deal and just have fun.

"What's wrong?" he asked, tearing her away from her thoughts as he loosened his grip to look at her. "You don't look happy at all."

She didn't want to tell him anything yet, so as if to fool him Karin answered, "You didn't call, dummy. You said that you would but you never did. Why?"

He smirked. "I thought it'd be more fun like this."

She blinked, slightly surprised by his answer. "Did _you _just say what I think you said? How's that even possible? I mean you're Mr. Workaholic. You don't know how to have _fun_."

The white-haired man rolled his eyes. "And what's that supposed to mean? I'm just as capable as anybody here. I merely choose my work over having fun because unlike other people I'd rather work hard than fool around."

"Uh-huh, sure you are," she teased. "And I'm the empress of Japan."

"Urgh, fine. Forget about that. Just tell me why you're not as happy as I thought you'd be. You were the one that looked so broken-hearted the other day when I told you that I'd think about it. Now that I'm here it's like you don't even car—"

Wanting him to stay quiet, Karin quickly cut him off by giving him a light peck on the lips. Satisfied by the result, she quickly leaned away only to be pulled back in for a second round. It had been a long time since he had felt her touch and that peck was definitely not enough.

Karin also felt the same way, which explained why she didn't put up much of a resistance when he pulled her back in. In fact, she was secretly hoping that he'd do that.

And then someone just had to ruin the moment.

"And I thought you hated PDA, Karin," a female voice teased, causing Karin to jump away from Tōshirō as if he was on fire. "Time really does change a person, doesn't it?"

"H-hey, Rukia! How's it going?" she asked innocently. To her surprise, Rukia, holding a sleeping chibi version of Karin, was the only one standing before them. She heaved a sigh of relief. "Where's my brother?"

"Ichigo went to the washroom with the boys," she replied. "I made sure to send him away when I saw the both of you hugging. You know how he gets, especially after you that _bastard _you dated a couple years ago."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, by the way." Karin gave a light hug, trying her best not to wake the sleeping toddler in her sister-in-law's arms, and smiled. "Let me introduce the two of you. Tōshirō meet Ru—"

"Kuchiki? Kuchiki Rukia?" Tōshirō asked, surprised to see his former high school classmate.

She raised an eyebrow, wondering how he knew her maiden name when she finally got a better look at the guy. Pure white spiky hair and piercing teal green eyes. There was no mistake. This man was definitely the prodigy from her high school days as well as the little brother of one her best friends.

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō? Who would have thought?" She smiled. "Oh, and by the way, it's Kurosaki now."

Feeling lost, Karin looked between the two and said, "Am I missing something?"

"We attended the same high school together," Rukia answered. "He was such a smart ass that he skipped five grades and ended up in the same class as his step-sister and me."

"You don't say?" she asked and then whispered, "I guess I was right when I made that assumption about him." She only meant to say it to herself, hence the whispering, but Tōshirō heard her loud and clear. He turned to her, wanting to ask her what she meant by that statement when someone called out to her.

"Yo, Karin!" yelled a man with long bright orange hair.

"It's about time you got here, bro!" Karin called out. "Dai, Kazu! Get over here!"

Nodding to his children, the boys left their father and ran to her side, giving her a monster hug.

"I almost didn't recognize you two," she smirked and gave them each a noogie. "You guys look different."

"Don't treat us like children!" complained the elder sibling, Kazune. He looked like a younger version of Byakuya what with his beautiful black mane tied in a high ponytail.

"Yeah!" agreed the smaller brother, Daichi. He looked like an exact replica of Ichigo when he was younger. "Kazu is thirteen and I'm nine. We're old enough to not be treated this way."

"No matter what you say, the two of you will always be little brats to me," she teased and gave them each another noogie.

"Auntie Karin!" they yelled, exasperated by their aunt's antics.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop…for now anyway."

"Speaking of which," Ichigo interrupted, "you look different yourself. What happened when you moved back to Tokyo? Did you finally make female friends?" he joked.

In response to his stupid question, Karin merely punched him hard in the gut, mumbling, "Of course I've got girlfriends, idiot!"

Tōshirō sweatdropped. He knew she had a fighting spirit, but to punch her brother in the gut with no remorse? He wondered if she would do the same to him one day but shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think of that. Right now he needed to be noticed because even though he usually didn't mind it, it somehow irritated him when they all ignored him the moment her brother came in.

He cleared his throat. "Uh… Hi."

Turning his attention to the source of the sound, Ichigo scowled at the man and his overprotective mode instantly kicked in. "Who the hell are you and why are you here?" he asked rudely as he placed himself in between Karin and Tōshirō, towering over the white-haired stranger. It wasn't too hard since he was about three inches shorter than her brother.

Tōshirō scowled back and added his infamous go-die-in-a-ditch glare. "Hitsugaya Tōshirō, Karin's boy—"

The man never had the time to finish his reply for Karin quickly placed her hands over his mouth and whispered, "Shut up unless you want to die!" Then she faced the others, feigning innocence, and said, "What's that Tōshirō? You need to go to the bathroom? What a surprise! I've got to go too! Watch our stuff, Ichi-nii! We'll be right back!"

And with that, they were gone before it was the end of the world.

Once they were out of sight, Karin stuffed him in a corner and yelled, "What the hell was that about? Since when have I been your girl—"

"You said I could be your boyfriend if I—"

"Don't interrupt me, Tōshirō," she ordered with a dark face. To her surprised it had little effect on him. "And I never said that. I had merely implied that I would give you a kiss. A k-i-s-s." She drawled the word 'kiss' as if to make her point. "If you really want to be my boyfriend, you still have to prove—"

"You talk too much," he interjected and greedily stole another kiss from her. This one was more passionate, and although she was currently angry at him, Karin couldn't help but enjoy it.

What could he say? They were in a corner, isolated from the eyes of everyone and he really wanted another kiss. If you were a guy, wouldn't you do the same?

"What…the…hell?" she huffed as they broke the kiss. "Aren't you even listening to me?"

"Look," he said seriously. "I don't know what it is about you, but I—"

To his dismay, he was cut off…again.

"The bathroom, huh? Is that supposed to be another slang for making out?" Ichigo shouted. "I thought you learned your lesson when that bastard took advantage of your kindness. Took advantage of your weakness. I thought you knew better, but apparently I was wrong. How many times do you have to get hurt before it gets through your thick skull?"

"You're one to talk!" she retorted, seething every word through her teeth. Tōshirō was just about to say something important and that could have made a big impact on her final decision between him and her dream job. "I may be your baby sister, but I'm twenty-nine years old! I can make my own damn decisions and there's nothing you can do about it!" She grabbed Tōshirō's arm and dragged him away from their spot but was stopped by her big brother.

"I'm not done with you!"

"Well I am! I'm sick and tired of being looked after like I was some fragile little thing. C'mon, Tōshirō, we're out of here."

Ichigo sighed as he watched them walk away. He hadn't meant to make his baby sister upset, but he was only looking out for her. Man, this was going to be a long three hour flight.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** GASP! No, you're not imagining things, and no, this isn't a chapter strictly reserved to inform you of recent news. This is an honest to God new chapter! FINALLY! I'm eternally sorry for not writing for the longest time, but things happen. I got busy, and before I knew, a year had already passed. Whether you're all still with me or not –I understand if you aren't any longer– know that I've tried making things more interesting and fluffier. We also get a look into Karin's past. How exciting is that?

Here's a short recap of the last eight chapters. You can skip this part if you remember the story.

_Karin was offered a deal: if she wanted that promotion, then she'd have to date the competitor's star editor and hurt him so badly that he'd fail in his future endeavours; thus putting their company in the lead. Karin had no choice but to accept his proposition in spite of not wanting to do it. How else would she achieve her dreams if not through this scheme?_

_But one question remained: how on earth would she meet the guy if he was aloof and ultimately unapproachable? Fiammetta, Karin's best friend, had an idea. A party hosted for the Gotei Thirteen Publishing's success was taking place at her uncle's hotel, and they were going to crash the party. After much confusion, Karin finally met the star editor but decided against forcing her way into his life. Rather, she'd ease her way in just like a real relationship. And little by little, Tōshirō fell for her just as she him._

_Regrettably, their time together was short-lived as they headed into a club for Shūhei's, Fiammetta's long-term boyfriend, birthday. After one night of passionate kisses, our two main characters were both confronted with a horror from their past: their ex's. Much drama ensued, and in the end, Karin decided that they should stop before their so-called relationship got any further. But Tōshirō didn't want their relationship to end. He wanted to fix it because for once in his life, he had found someone aside from his sister and cousin whom he could finally trust._

_After much persuasion, along with the help of Fiammetta, they reconciled their friendship. As for their actual relationship, Karin proposed a deal: if he could prove himself worthy of her love, then she'd take him back. In the end, Tōshirō surprised Karin by coming with her to her hometown to visit her mother's grave._

_Meanwhile, during the night they [Karin & Tōshirō] reconciled, Shūhei proposed to Fiammetta and she accepted._

Special thanks to my wonderful beta **Misteree Gurl**!

* * *

**Uncovered Truths**

If Ichigo thought the flight was long, then waiting for his sister and father to pick them up was a thousand times worst. At least when they were on the plane, Karin was nowhere near him; and so the worst he got was a harsh glare whenever he glanced back at his sister. Now that they were face to face, he almost wished they were back on the plane. Karin showed no sign of cooling off and he was almost scared for his life. You never wanted to mess with an angered Kurosaki, especially the women.

"Mind if I borrow your wife?" Honestly, she wasn't going to wait for an answer, but she still had to make it look like she was. "Good," she quickly replied and grabbed Rukia.

Ichigo sighed. There wasn't much he could until she cooled off, and he knew that that time would eventually come. For now, he'd just have to patiently wait.

"So what's up?"

"I just got a text message from Yuzu," Karin explained, "and she said she has a few errands to run before she and her husband get here. You think you can—"

"Go with your dad when he gets here?"

Karin nodded pleadingly. "The last thing I need right now is my father harping on about suitors and grandchildren. Ichigo already covered half of it at the airport."

Although Rukia had no idea what had transpired between them after her husband had 'insisted on calling his dad,' she pretty much knew what he had actually done. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, especially after seeing the look on Karin's face when they got back from their 'bathroom trip.'

Still, Rukia knew that Ichigo was only looking out for his little sister. He cared too much to see her get hurt again. "I know Ichigo's an idiot most of the time, but he does care about you. You know that, right, Karin?"

Karin sighed. Okay, so maybe she was blowing this way out of proportion. But did her brother have to interrupt them then and there? "I know he does, and frankly I don't want to go through that mess again. But he has to learn to give me some space. I'm twenty-nine, Rukia. I don't need a babysitter anymore."

Rukia pondered on that for a moment. In a way, Karin was right. She was old enough to make her own decisions, may they be right or wrong. And yet, she also felt like her husband was right as well. There had to be some room for compromise.

"How about this? I'll have a talk with Ichigo if you promise to behave. We're here to visit your mom, Karin, not fight amongst each other."

"I know…" she grumbled. "Fine, I'll be on my _best_ behaviour."

"That's all I ask. Alright kids!" she called out with a smile. "Who wants to go in the same car as Auntie Karin? Not all of us can go in grandpa's car."

Almost immediately, Karin's chibi look-alike ran towards her aunt and hugged her tightly before jumping with excitement. "Aya wants to go with Auntie Rin-Rin! Pick Aya, Mama! Pick Aya!"

Scooping her niece in her arms, Karin smiled. "That's my girl! Do you want to sit in-between me and your Uncle Tōshirō?"

"Uncle Tōshirō?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Last time she checked, she never had an uncle named Tōshirō. "Are you married, Auntie Rin-Rin?"

Both men chocked upon hearing her innocent words while the women laughed. Ayame was too cute for words.

"No, sweetie. He's my…" Karin paused a bit before answering. Despite saying he still had to prove himself back at Hanaeda Airport, she had to admit that he already did the moment he stepped foot on the plane. "Tōshirō's my boyfriend. Do you want to meet him?"

Timidly, she nodded.

"See that guy leaning against the wall, pretending to be all cool-like?" Karin asked as they walked in his direction.

Ayame nodded.

"That's him." When they got closer a few seconds later, she introduced the two. "Ayame, this is your Uncle Tōshirō."

He smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Ayame."

Ayame stared at him in wonder. Not only was his hair the oddest colour of white, but his eyes were a mix of green and blue. She couldn't believe that colours like these could be natural. So naturally she had to…

"Pretty!" she exclaimed and reached for his hair.

…touch it.

Tōshirō tried his best to suppress a yell while Karin couldn't help but laugh a little. "Let him go, sweetie. It's not nice to pull someone's hair."

Finally realizing her mistake, little Ayame shrank back into her aunt's arms and guiltily looked at the ground. "Aya's sorry, Auntie Rin-Rin. Aya didn't mean to hurt Uncle Shirō. Aya just thought it was the most prettiest colour Aya had ever seen!"

Uncle _Shirō_? Out of all the names, why did that little girl call have to call him _that_? Maybe he wouldn't have minded as much had Ayame been alone, but at the moment she wasn't. Karin was there and he just knew she'd tease him to no end.

She patted her niece's head. "It's okay, sweetie. It was an honest mistake. Just apologize to your…" Karin snorted. "…Uncle _Shirō_. He's the one you hurt."

With a near to tears expression, Ayame timidly lifted her head and said, "Aya's very sorry, Uncle Shirō. Aya didn't mean to pull your hair."

He chuckled and patted her head. "Don't worry about it, Ayame." What else could he do but accept her apology? The girl was only three years old. It wasn't like he could harshly reprimand her or anything. "Next time if you want a closer look, all you have to do is ask, okay?"

Ayame nodded joyfully before jumping down from her aunt's arms and giving his leg a quick hug. "Okay, Uncle Shirō! Now Aya has to go. Aya wants to be the first to greet Grandpa and Auntie Zu-Zu. Aya will be back, okay?"

And just like that, she ran to her mother's side, waiting for her aunt and grandfather to show up.

"So, I'm your boyfriend, huh?" he asked, acting smug.

Karin rolled her eyes. She knew this would happen. "Who? You? Pft!" She laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you, _Shirō_, but I don't date guys named after a colour. Especially since your hair…" She snorted again. "…matches your name."

Despite wanting to yell at her for that ridiculous comment, he decided against it and thought of a better punishment. Well…it wasn't so much as a punishment as it was mostly for _his_ enjoyment.

Grabbing her wrist before she could even react, the editor gently pushed her against the wall he was leaning on and caged her with his body. "Is that so?" He leaned to her ear and whispered seductively, "Are you sure about that?"

Karin unconsciously shivered under his touch and nearly melted. If only they were alone, then she would… Wait, what was she thinking? _'Get your mind out of the gutter, Karin!'_

"People are looking at us!" she hissed. "And not in front of the kids!"

"Since when did you care about what other people think?" he continued. "I sure as hell don't. 'Sides, my back is facing them. They wouldn't suspect a thing."

Having their make-out session interrupted by her brother and sitting beside some deranged girl during the flight was enough to drive him crazy. If he didn't have her now, he swore he'd die then and there.

"That's not…" It was getting harder and harder to resist the guy. His voice was as soft as velvet and Karin's defences were breaking. "…the…"

Slowly, their eyes unintentionally closed and the distance between them vanished…

…until the sound of a car honking stopped them.

Tōshirō cursed while Karin sighed.

'_I guess that's one way to stop,' _she thought ruefully. Ruefully? Seriously, what was up with her?

"That loud man would be my father."

"Right," he said and began walking towards the car, "let's go say hi."

"I don't think so," she replied and pulled him back. "If I were you, I'd stay away from him…at least for now. He's not your typical oddball and the last thing I need is to cause a scene in public."

He raised an eyebrow wondering what she meant. Wasn't it natural to be embarrassed by your parents?

She sighed. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Try me."

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief. He honestly had no idea what he was getting himself into. "Okay. One time for Easter, he dressed up as a giant pink bunny and took pictures of himself hiding Easter eggs."

"That's not too bad. All dads do that for their ki—"

"That was three years ago and he was with his friends."

"O-kay," he said, drawling each syllable with an awkward tone. Karin's father sounded like he was a real immature nutcase. But she seemed too embarrassed for words, so naturally he'd say something to make her feel better. "Maybe it was for his grandchildren?"

"If only! The pictures unfortunately ended up on facebook." She fished out her blackberry and, after pushing a few buttons, showed them to him.

Tōshirō mentally shuddered at the sight. True to her words, her father was dressed in a giant pink and fluffy bunny suit, and he had a super hairy beard. The picture was…difficult to stomach. "Okay… So it is that bad. But that was three years ago. Maybe he miraculously mat—"

"Last year for a Halloween party, my dad dressed up as the tooth fairy wearing a –surprise, surprise– pink tutu. Again, the pictures were on facebook."

Karin changed photo albums and showed them to him again.

'_These pictures are revolting!'_ Tōshirō thought and quickly looked away. He did not need that image imprinted in his mind.

"Yeah… I got nothing. And I think my eyes need to be burned now."

She laughed. "You'll get over it. Just count yourself lucky that you don't have to see him until later. It'll give you time to…prepare."

-0-

About an hour later, Yuzu finally arrived. She was absolutely beaming with her enlarged belly; although you couldn't really call it enlarged. It looked more like she was about four months pregnant as oppose to six.

"Auntie Zu-Zu!" Careful not to knock her aunt over, Aya settled for a sweet embrace to her leg. "Aya missed you!"

"And I've missed you! Let me take a look at you, honey."

Ayame nodded and spun around, showing her cute little sky blue dress. At the end of each seam, there was a white lacy decoration, making her look like a life-sized doll.

"Wow! You've really grown, haven't you?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Uh-huh! And how's Aya's little cousin?" Ayame asked as she gently rubbed her aunt's belly. "Are you being a good boy?"

Yuzu smiled. Not only did her niece look exactly like Karin, but her attitude was just the same: kind and caring. "He's doing well, hun."

"That's good! Aya's gonna say hi to Uncle Jin-Jin now, okay? See you in the car, Auntie Zu-Zu!"

"See you!" When her niece left, Yuzu turned around and greeted her sister while Tōshirō slipped around them and started loading the car with their suitcases. "Karin! Look at you! You look positively gorgeous!"

Karin blushed at the compliment. "Thanks, Yuz. You look awesome too!" She crouched down to her sister's belly and cooed, "How's my nephew doing? I bet you eat like a king with your mum's food."

"Not exactly. Ever since I hit the middle mark, Jinta's practically been my slave."

"And that's disappointing how?" Karin asked her little sister. "I'd kill to have my own personal slave."

She laughed. "Only you, Karin, would think of it that way."

"And only you would feel bad," she retorted.

"Touché."

Man it felt good seeing her sister again. The last time she saw her was about the time they graduated from college and that was nearly seven years ago.

"So where's the guy?" Yuzu wondered, not giving Karin a moment to relax just yet. "Did he come? Show me! Show me!"

She sighed. Yuzu never missed a beat. "Alright, Yuz. No need to get excited. Just turn around."

Yuzu wolf-whistled. "He _is_ hot!"

"Stop drooling," she joked and then nodded towards the rear view mirror. She could see the deadly glares he was giving to Tōshirō. "Jinta's about ready to kill him."

Yuzu turned her gaze towards her husband and laughed even harder. "Well, a little jealousy does go a long way."

Karin had to do a double take. Did her so-called innocent sister just say that? "Come again?"

"Oh, nothing."

"No, seriously. What have you done to my real sister?"

Before Yuzu could answer her, Tōshirō interrupted them and introduced himself. "Thank you for picking us up. My name's Hitsugaya Tōshirō."

Yuzu shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hitsugaya-san. I'm Hanakari Yuzu, and the one giving you the death glares is my husband, Jinta." She laughed. "Don't mind him though. He's always like that."

"O-kay…"

"So what do you do for a—"

"We should get going, shouldn't we, sis?" Karin quickly dejected. "I'm sure you have a lot of stuff in your car, right?"

Yuzu pouted. "You're no fun, Karin. But you are right. After you, Hitsugaya-san."

"Thanks."

As soon as Tōshirō entered the car, Yuzu grabbed Karin and said, "Wow, you two must really like each other."

"What are you talking about?"

"C'mon, Karin! Don't tell me you haven't noticed this. You invited him to see your mother's grave and he came. Remember all those other boyfriends?"

Puzzled, she looked at her sister. "What other boyfriends? I've never brought anyone here."

"That's exactly what I mean!" Yuzu looked at her big sister and nudged her. "Looks like someone finally found someone special!" she sang.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Right, right. C'mon, let's go. I'm sure Aya's dying to see Raku."

She pouted again. "You're no fun."

"Yes, yes. You've already established that, Yuzu. Let's just get going. If you want, you can ask all the questions you want in the car. But please be reasonable."

"Alright, have your way. I'll be good."

"Thank you."

-0-

When they arrived at Yuzu's place, Karin was shocked to say the least. She knew that Jinta was a professional baseball player, but she never expected to see such a simple house. When Yuzu said the man was simple, she wasn't kidding.

Instead of a mansion, the lovely couple bought a big house decorated with a basic greyish-white brick colour, a black-tiled roof, and one big and black garage door. The driveway was wide enough to house four cars and there were a few stairs leading to the main entrance. From a distance, Karin could also make out a small deck on the second floor with easel facing her.

When they entered the inside of her sister's house, Karin realized that it was just as simple but held a lot more room than one would think. It had two floors and a basement, which the latter seemed big enough to house another couple.

"By the way, Karin, Hitsugaya-san," Yuzu began as everyone but Jinta headed into the living room, "I'm sure the signs are obvious, but I'm having the basement renovated and the upstairs bedroom was turned into a nursery. So that leaves me one more room. Do you mind sharing it?"

Karin swallowed deeply. "Share? As in sleeping in the same bed?" It was already hard to resist him. If they were alone in a room… Well, let just say it could get heated pretty quickly. "Yeah… No, thanks, Yuz. Why don't you take the bed, Tōshirō? I'll sleep on the pull-out couch."

He shook his head. "My mom raised me as a gentleman. I'll take the couch and you take the bed."

"No," she argued back. "You're a guest here, so I insist you take the bed."

"It's okay, Karin. I don't mind."

"Take the bed."

"No."

"Yes!" She glared.

He glared back. "No!"

"Yes!"

While they argued, Yuzu managed to make some tea and brought some snacks along. After setting it up on the coffee table placed in the centre of the living room, she finally decided to stop them.

"Okay! Stop!" Yuzu interrupted. "Knowing my sister, this argument will never end. So why don't the both of you share the bed so we don't make a scene in front of Ayame, okay?"

Everyone was silent as they turned their gaze to the little girl playing with Yuzu and Jinta's pet cat, Raku. She was dangling a piece of yarn in its face, watching him trying to claw at it while acting completely oblivious to their argument. She stopped shortly after when the smell of fresh cookies permeated her nostrils and grabbed the cup of milk that Yuzu had brought for her. She dipped her cookie inside the milk before proceeding to gobble it up.

"But Yuz—"

"No buts, Karin!"

"Bu—"

"Ka-Rin," Yuzu said in a dangerously low tone. "Don't make me say it again."

She sighed. There was no point in arguing with pregnant woman. "Fine. I'll sleep in the same bed if he says yes. Tōshirō?"

Like Karin, he also sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I guess."

"Great!" she cheered. "The room is past the bathroom and to your left. After you're done your tea, the two of you can get dressed."

They looked as if they were going to say something but Yuzu beat them to it.

"Jinta already brought you suitcases there, so don't worry about it." Yuzu took a sip of her tea and took a bite of her cookie before she innocently added, "Oh, and if you ever decide to do _anything_ alone, the walls are pretty thick." She grinned impishly before hiding it behind another sip of tea.

Karin shook her head in a disbelieving manner. Her sister had definitely been here way too long. She was beginning to act just like her dad.

-0-

The moment Ichigo and his family arrived at his dad's place, Ichigo headed into his old bedroom while his wife brought their sons to the room adjacent to his. His room was just as he remembered all those years ago. His queen sized bed was against the wall beneath his window, while his desk was against the wall on the other side beside his closet. His dresser and mirror were facing the desk. He couldn't believe his father still kept his room as it was all those years ago. Despite his eccentrics, he could tell that his father only acted that way because he missed his children.

After unpacking his and Rukia's things, his wife came into his room and she looked pissed. "What the hell were you thinking?" Rukia demanded. "Karin was absolutely livid with you today."

He sighed. "I honestly don't know. I just lost it when I saw that guy with her. I don't want her to go through that again."

After hearing his words, her tone softened. "I know how much you love your sisters but this, this overprotective brother thing has got to stop. Ever since that guy hurt Karin, you've always been in her bubble. You even asked Renji to look out for her for crying out loud! You can't keep doing this to her, Ichigo. You've got to let her go."

"You just don't get it, Rukia! Karin has always been the type to take care of everyone else's burdens before her own. It's like she builds these invisible walls around her to protect her from harm but also to protect her from spilling. After falling for that _bastard_, she let him in and he tore her apart. Do you remember when she cried for a good part of her life while she stayed with us? I have _never_ seen Karin cry so hard, not since Mom's death. And when she wasn't crying, she acted like an empty shell. If it wasn't for Fia…"

Trying to quell his anger, Ichigo stopped mid-sentence and tightened his hands into fists, looking away. He had never seen his baby sister so broken like he did on that day. And it killed him inside, especially since he knew he couldn't do anything for her except offer her a home far away from that idiot.

"It's okay," she delicately whispered and placed a hand over his clenched fist and another on his cheek.

Ichigo closed his eyes, leaning into his wife's hand, and breathed deeply. By then, his fists were unclenched and he was able to resume.

"Karin's always been so self-conscious, you know, secretly complaining about her appearance while comparing herself to Yuzu. She even went through a stage where she dressed and acted like a boy for a good part of her teenage life. If she hadn't hit puberty, she would have stayed like that for the rest of her life. I can't let that happen to her again. To see her so vulnerable, so weak. If Karin goes down like the last time, I won't be held responsible for what I do to that white-haired midget."

"I know how you feel but you still need to keep your distance."

Like Ichigo, Rukia also felt heartbroken when she saw her sister in that state. Over time, Karin and Yuzu had become very dear to her. But unlike her husband, she knew how to back off because she too knew what it felt like to have a crazy overprotective older brother.

"What if he hurts her? What if he's only using her? What if h—"

"He's a great guy, Ichigo." She looked at him earnestly before continuing. "Trust me, I should know. We've been in the same class since the beginning of high school. But if it'll make you feel better, go talk to him. You'll learn to trust him once you know him a little better."

"Bu—"

"No buts," she interjected. "Just promise me you'll keep your cool while you're talking to him, okay?"

He smiled. Rukia may be 'abusive' –abusive because she'd always be the first to literally knock some sense into him– but he could always rely on her whenever he needed her. God, he loved this woman more than anything. "Thanks, Rukia."

"Anytime," she replied and pulled him in for a kiss. Hey, she deserved a little something after quelling the beast's rage, didn't she?

Ichigo happily obliged until they heard the doorbell.

"Looks like they're here. Remember, Ichigo, be nice."

"You have my word."

-0-

The moment Karin walked into the house, her father glomped her. "Karin-chan, my sweetie! It's been so long!" At this point, rivers of tears dramatically poured down his cheeks. "Why didn't you greet me at the airport today? I felt so neglected!"

"Let go of me now before I hit you, Dad." When he didn't move, she nailed him in the gut. Hey, she did warn him. "I said get off, Old Man!"

Not a second later did the man recover. "Oh, Masaki!" he cried and kneeled in front of a giant poster on the wall of the living room. It was a picture of her mom. "Our darling Karin-chan is so mean to me! Why oh why does this always happen to me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you're immature for a fifty-three year old, Dad! Why don't you act your age for once?" She turned to her boyfriend. "Like I said, this nut is my father, Isshin."

Tōshirō mentally prepared himself for Hurricane Isshin before introducing himself. If he was this eccentric on a normal day-to-day basis, then imagine what he would do when her old man found out that he was dating his daughter. "Good afternoon, Kurosaki-san. I'm Karin's boyfriend, Hitsugaya Tōshirō."

The moment he heard the words 'Karin's boyfriend,' Isshin's attitude did a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn. "Her boyfriend, huh?" he wondered critically and analyzed him. "Well, you look nice and seem polite. Tell me, does your family have a long history of birthing strong and healthy babies? It would be good if my darling Karin could fin—"

More embarrassed than anything, Karin yelled, "Enough with the questions, Dad! And who said anything of getting married or bearing children?"

"But you brought him down to see your mother's grave. Doesn't that mean you're serious?"

She blushed at the thought. First Yuzu had noticed and now her father. Man, if only they knew the real reason behind this.

No, she couldn't think of that right this instant. Despite her ill-intention of dating him in the first place, Karin wasn't so sure about the whole ordeal anymore. She liked him, that much was certain, but there was still something holding her back.

"Okay! Enough idle chat!" Rukia yelled, effectively gaining everyone's attention. "It's time to start making supper. Dad, can you take care of the children?"

"Yes, darling daughter! C'mon kids, let's go play in the basement!"

"Yes!" The kids yelled with excitement.

"Ichigo, Tōshirō, I'm sure the two of you can find _something_ to do together, right?" Rukia asked.

"Sure," Ichigo replied.

Tōshirō, on the other hand, looked uncertain.

"It's okay," she reassured him. "I've made sure that my husband won't bite your head off. Right, _Strawberry_?"

Whenever she used that nickname, Ichigo knew she was serious. He gulped. "Yeah. If you don't mind, Tōshirō, I'd like to talk to you about something important."

"I guess…"

"Then it's settled. Go upstairs and have your business. The girls and I have work to do!"

Happily, Yuzu went into the kitchen while a sulking Karin was being dragged in by Rukia.

"Rukia, you know I'm not much of a cook," she complained. "I can make simple dishes no problem, but that's about it. I'm not keen on extravagant stuff."

"Trust me, Karin, I know. That's why we'll have you cut the vegetables."

She sighed. "Fine. And what the hell was that about? Ichigo's going to cream Tōshirō."

"No, he won't," Rukia reassured her. "He gave me his word. He's just going to talk to him."

"Talk to him? Yeah right! Since when did Ichigo just 'talk to people'?"

"It'll just give him some piece of mind, Karin. Remember what happened to your old boyfriend? He wants to make sure that Tōshirō won't break your heart like your ex did."

Right, Rukia always had an answer to everything; something that Karin both admired and despised about her.

Knowing she was beaten, Karin sighed. "Fine, but if he breaks him, your husband's dead."

Rukia smirked. "I have no problem with that. In fact, I think I might join you."

-0-

Ichigo didn't waste any time. The moment the door to his room was closed, he went straight to the point. "I know it isn't any of my business, but I need to know."

Raising an eyebrow, Tōshirō patiently waited for his question.

"Why? Why out of all the women in the world did you choose my sister?"

"I…" Although Tōshirō had expected this from her brother, he didn't think he'd be blunt about it. Karin's brother almost sounded desperate to know.

"Karin's gone through her fair share of heartbreaks, you know," Ichigo continued as if he hadn't heard a word from the white-haired male, "and –she's going to kill me if I say this but– the last one nearly killed her. Not physically, but emotionally. Had it not been for Fia, I don't know what we would have done."

Tōshirō pondered a bit as he absorbed his words. Again with that word: _heartbreak_. What did that guy do to her? "I don't know how it happened," he began. "It was just a light dinner between…_acquaintances_, really. But one thing led to another and I found myself attracted to her. She was different from the rest. Definitely different." He smiled at the memory. "She makes me feel useful in this world, you know? And I… I just can't see myself with anyone but her."

Ichigo carefully contemplated his words. This was exactly how it all started with his wife…except for the fact that she hated his guts and treated him like any other guy. But if the man felt like this about his sister, then he'd _have_ to learn to accept him. It wasn't like this guy was giving off a bad vibe like that Kinoshita dude anyway. This Tōshirō guy was different, but good different.

"You swear you won't hurt her? That you'll accept her no matter what?"

The editor hadn't expected to win Ichigo over so quickly. So he accepted their relationship?

"I can't promise that we won't get into future fights –it's inevitable as all couples do fight–but I'll love her no matter what."

Love. God, he wanted to tell Karin that before he told anyone else. Guess it couldn't be helped.

"I would have told her that beforehand, but you just had to interrupt," he mumbled more to himself that to Ichigo, but Ichigo heard him all the same.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, that wasn't one of my smartest plans. But if you love her…" He sighed. "You better tell her before I change my mind. Just remember, if you hurt her in any way possible, I swear I'll—"

"Literally rip me to shreds? I have a step-sister. I know what it's like to be a brother."

He laughed and placed a friendly arm around his shoulder. "You know what, Tōshirō, you're not a bad guy after all."

-0-

_Somebody hit the lights, so we can rock it day and night  
People getting' down, that's right, from AM to PM  
Everybody looking like stars, all the chicks and fellas in the bars  
All of y'all pumping this in ya cars, from AM to PM_

"Sorry, guys!" Karin called out and fished out her cell phone. "I need to take this call. Do you mind if I head out for a bit."

"Sure, Karin," Rukia answered. "I'll come get you when we need you."

She thanked her and headed outside.

"Hey Fia, what's up?"

"Karin? Thank God you answered!" Fiammetta yelled frantically. "I know it's your vacation and everything but I need your help at the restaurant!"

"Okay, calm down. What happened?"

She took a few deep breaths before she could continue. "Some co-workers called in sick and I need you to fill in. You're the only one I trust!" There was a mumble, followed by Fiammetta telling someone to shut up. "Can you do it? Please! Please! Please! You're my only hope!"

She sighed. "When do I have to be there?"

"If you were a man I would kiss you! Thank you so much, Karin!" There was another mumble, but this time it was followed by a loud crash. "Can you be here on Wednesday?"

"Sure. I guess I can go back with Tōshirō."

"Is that right?" For some reason, Karin didn't like that tone she used. "I guess this gives you more alone time with him."

She blushed. "Shut up! What I do with him is none of your business."

"Sure, sure. Speaking of business, have you told him the truth yet? Judging from what you've told me, Hitsugaya-san won't tolerate it if you lie to him. Just forget about that promotion, will you? You can get a million job offers, Karin, but you only get one chance at finding your soul mate."

"I know, Fia, but I can't just tell him that I used him for my own personal gain. He'd be devastated."

"The longer you take, the harder it's going to be to tell him."

Karin knew Fiammtta was right. But still… "Fia, I still don't kno—"

"Enough with your God damn trust issues, Karin! Hitsugaya-san likes you…a lot. Why else would he go to all that trouble of booking a flight even though the man probably has thousands of paperwork to finish back here?"

Karin paused for a moment before responding. In a way, Fiammetta was right. Still, how could she get over those so-called 'trust issues' when they still plagued her mind? "You win, Fia. I'll find a way to tell him soon."

"I knew you'd see it my way. Thanks again for your help. I seriously owe you big time!"

"No problem."

"See you later!"

"Bye."

As she turned around, Karin spotted Rukia standing right behind her. The expression on her face was unreadable, but the way she was positioned –arms crossed over her chest and one foot incessantly tapping the ground– screamed 'What the hell were you thinking!'.

"Rukia, I-I can explain!"

"Really now?" she sneered. "I never pegged you as a user, Karin. You know what it feels like to be used. So why would you do it to someone else?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her soft ebony-coloured hair. Looks like the gig was up.

"I never got to know my mom as well as Yuzu or Ichigo. I just… I thought that maybe achieving her dreams would make me that much closer to her. My boss, that bastard, told me that if I could make Tōshirō fall in love with me and then dump him, I could be promoted to junior-editor."

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "Are you really going through with it?"

"I… If I wasn't trying so hard to get him to fall for me, I probably would have. But now that I've got to know him… I-I don't know anymore. My head tells me that I should, but my hearts tells me that I shouldn't. I know what I should do, but I feel like I can't make that choice. Fiammetta said I had trust issues but I…"

Her eyes softened and Rukia placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, giving her a one-armed hug. "Look, Karin, I know what family means to you, but you have to understand his dilemma as well. From what I heard from Momo, he was once betrayed by his lover as well. He thought he could ignore the things she did behind his back, but when he found her sleeping with his best friend, someone he loved as a brother… It pushed him off the edge and ever since then he's grown to live without trust. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you break what you have, you might not get it back."

Karin sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She knew he was betrayed as well, but she never knew he was just as broken as her. The only difference was that despite his pain, Tōshirō had gone out of his way and made an effort to offer her some of his trust. And what had she done in return? Nothing but accept it. She may have been greedy, but she now felt sorry. Maybe she could, for once, make that sacrifice instead of making worthless excuses.

"He's a good kid, Karin, and he deserves this more than anything. But if you're heart's not in it, then I see no point in continuing this charade. You'll only end up hurting each other."

Karin took a moment to think before asking, "But what if I decide not to say a word about this? Are you going to tell him?"

"Now I didn't say I would do that. You're old enough to make your own decisions, Karin. I'm not you're your brother. Just make the right choice."

Karin smiled and gave her a full-out hug. "I will. I just need some alone time with him tonight. Think you can give me a hand?"

Rukia smirked. "I think we can come up with something. What did you have in mind?"

"I need you to…"

-0-

Karin was annoyed. The moment everyone began to eat, her father started bombarding Tōshirō with millions of questions. They weren't that bad at first. Isshin began asking about his family, his profession, how they met. But as the questions dragged on, they became more and more personal.

"Have the two of you had any sexual inter—"

SPLAT!

Even before the question could be raised, two spoonfuls of mashed potatoes were launched at his face, specifically one to his cheek and the other to his eyes. The table grew silent and then everyone stared in shock at the spoons both sisters, Rukia and Yuzu, were holding.

"Food fight!" Yuzu yelled.

Almost immediately, the kids grabbed their spoons and began launching their vegetables at all the adults. Luckily, Karin had anticipated this and signalled Tōshirō to duck underneath the table.

"On the count of three, rush to the front door and get out."

He nodded. "One."

"Two."

"Three!" they yelled at the same time and bolted. Since everyone was too busy throwing food at each other, they had yet to realize that two very lucky people escaped unharmed.

"Man, that was amazing! Did you see the look on everyone's face? Priceless!"

"How did you know that was going to happen?" he asked.

"We planned it," was her response. "What? Did you really want to answer his questions?"

"I…" Actually, he was thankful that that had happened. Honestly, playing a thousand questions with her father was driving him crazy.

"That's what I thought."

A comfortable silence soon fell between the two as they walked up the street. It was a little chilly outside but none of them minded.

'_What's up with her?'_ Tōshirō wondered. Ever since he saw her talking with Rukia in the backyard –he had seen them through Ichigo's window– Karin had been awfully quiet. It was weird to see her like this.

But before he could voice his worry, Karin had stopped at the top of the road and gingerly traced the railing that surrounded the cliffside. She hoped over it and sat down with her back against one of the posts. She looked up at the sky and smiled. "Beautiful, isn't?"

"Yeah." As corny and cliché as this sounded, he couldn't look at anything but her. The way her face glistened in the moon's glow was simply magnificent.

She patted the ground next to her, motioning him to sit next to her, and he happily obliged. "After my mom died, I always came here. It was my sanctuary, and now I want to share it with you."

She snuggled closer to him and intertwined her fingers with his, resting her head on his should as she did so.

"A couple of hours ago, I had an enlightening conversation with Fia and Rukia. I never realized it until they pointed it out to me." She shifted her head a little until her eyes met his. "I realized I never fully trusted you." There was a slight moment of silence before she continued. "You've shared so many things with me, even gave up a couple days of work just so you could spend some time with me, and I've yet to show my gratitude." She scoffed at her stupidity. "Do you like to understand why I can't trust guys? Why I've been so troubled?"

Did he want to know? Although he had always wondered about that, now that he was given the choice he wasn't so sure anymore. It was her life after all, and even if she wanted to give him the choice, didn't it mean that she felt obliged to do so?

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Karin. I don't mind."

She lifted her head to face him and shook her head. "No, I want to. I… I know it seems like I'm forcing myself, but I have to come to terms with it as well. I feel like if I never confront my haunted past, I can never move on and never give you what you want."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. "Okay. I'm listening."

"Remember that guy I kissed when we were at that club?"

How could he forget? That was the night he experienced so many emotions, and the night he finally realized that he liked her.

"He was the guy that ruined my belief in guys. I don't know how he found me because it's been years since I last saw him, but he did." Damn, this was harder than she thought. But she couldn't back out now, not after finally finding the courage to bring this up. "Kinoshita Shunsuke. He was the first guy I ever loved."

She looked away from Tōshirō's gaze, half-afraid that his eyes would see everything she was throwing at him and half-afraid that she'd read something she didn't want to see in his expression. He may have been good at hiding his feelings, but she kind of knew how to read him.

"Ever since my mom died, I closed off all my emotions so my sister could have someone to lean on whenever she needed it. And I guess from there, it just grew as a habit to care for others before caring for myself."

When her mother died, her personality flipped. She was aloof towards everyone but her family and close friends. She didn't care what the others thought of her. Nothing mattered but her loved ones.

"But when I met Shun… I don't know. He taught me to open up and we ended up dating through our senior year of high school and up until our last year of college. I loved him and I felt like I could do anything for him. And after a night of drinking, I decided that I would give myself to him."

Her hands unconsciously tightened and she lifted her head away from his shoulders, making sure that he couldn't see the tears that ran down her cheeks. This was it. The root of all her problems. If he accepted her after this, then her doubts about him would vanish.

"After our night, he started cussing, saying that it was a mistake, and literally kicked me out. This was the first time I had experienced love so I didn't do anything to him. I wanted him to love me, so I did everything I could. I didn't even mind if he wanted to beat me. I just didn't want to be alone.

"My sister eventually found me –'til this day I still don't know how– and she tried to reason with me. I didn't want to hear her. I didn't want to listen to anyone. They couldn't possibly understand what I went through.

"About a week later –he was avoiding me like the plague– I received a text message from him. A _fucking_ text telling me that I was ugly, and that I wasn't even a good fuck. I was violent and because of me he'd change his sex and start going out with guys.

"It killed me. Tore me apart. I didn't know what to do or say. I just felt empty. Thank God the university I wanted to attend to in America accepted me. It was near my brother, too, so I didn't even have to live on campus. But I barely did anything even if I thought this was my chance to start anew. I just felt like an empty shell. I even cried. I hadn't cried since my mom died.

"I never believed in men or relationships after that." She tried to wipe her tears away, but they didn't want to stop.

Hearing her tearful words was breaking his heart. How the hell could that guy do that to her? If he could, he'd kill this Kinoshita guy the next time they met.

'_Hold on a sec, Kinoshita?'_ he thought. It was weird, but he wondered if his ex was somehow related to her ex. It was a long shot, but it was possible, wasn't it? Nah. It couldn't be. Wasn't Kinoshita a common surname?

"But then I met you. This smart-aleck know-it-all editor. You were different from the rest. You weren't looking for someone to sleep with but someone that would love you for who you are, not what you are. And I guess somewhere along the way, I fell—"

Unwrapping his fingers from hers, Tōshirō placed his hand underneath her chin and made her face him. He didn't need to hear everything to know that she had fallen for him as well. She even opened up old wounds just to show him that she was ready to start anew, that she trusted him with all her heart; and for that he was grateful.

"Thank you," he gently interjected and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

Karin placed a hand over his. "I should be the one to thank you. You've done so much for me."

No words were needed after that; just the feel of each other's lips against their own.

* * *

**A/N:** You thought she was going to spill, weren't you? Haha! That's not until later! :P And let me know what you think about this chapter. I felt…I don't know, weird about it? It didn't sit right with me, but I also didn't know what else to do with it. I could have sent it to my beta again, but I know that if I did, I wouldn't be posting this for another couple of weeks because I'd be too busy to fix it until December. If you could, let me know how I did in a review. Thanks in advance!


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